Judge denies early release for ex-teacher in sex case
4/28/2006VAN WERT, Ohio - A Van Wert County Common Pleas judge yesterday denied a request for early release from prison for a former Crestview Local School teacher who was convicted of having sex with a student.
Marc P. Boznango, 39, is serving an eight-year sentence.
In his ruling, Judge Charles Steele said the victim "continues to suffer from the crime and that an early release of the defendant from incarceration may have a detrimental effect on her recovery."
Boznango, who was a special-needs teacher at Crestview Junior High School in Convoy, Ohio, was convicted in 2003 on a sexual battery charge for having sexual relations with a female student.
Boznango's relatives told the court during Wednesday's hearing that they were willing to assist in his rehabilitation and felt that Boznango had shown remorse for his actions.
The victim, who was 14 at the time the relationship began, asked that he not be shown leniency.
"Eight years is not enough. If it was up to me, he would sit there the rest of his life and rot away. Eight years is not enough. I'm suffering away for the rest of my life, so why can't he?" she said.
"He is a sick man. Your honor, I just want to ask, please do not release him. I don't deserve this in my life right now."
According to the Van Wert County Sheriff's Office, Boznango had sex with the girl "multiple times at various locations," beginning with an after-school encounter in a Crestview classroom in May, 2001.
Boznango told the judge that he had changed in the last three years.
"I was a very [messed] up person. I have a better understanding of the people that I have hurt and I regret becoming involved with a student," Boznango said in court.
Judge Steele, in turning down the request, noted the defendant has participated in educational, service, and religious activities while incarcerated "and deserves commendation for participation in such activities which are aiding in his rehabilitation."