TOLEDO, Ohio — A man man charged with sex crimes against a disabled woman was sentenced in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court today.
68-year-old Joseph Bergman will get two years of probation and will register as a felon and class one sex offender, but he has been given zero jail time.
In April 2020, Bergman worked at the Luthor Home of Mercy, a care center for people with disabilities. According to Ottawa County court documents, he sexually assaulted a coworker with Down syndrome in a supply closet.
Bergman was originally charged with two counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition but was offered a plea deal by Ohio Attorney General David Yost, removing the more severe charges.
During sentencing, Bergman apologized and promised to change his behavior.
"I am just totally sorry for my family, for her family, for herself. For my coworkers, I need to be disciplined. Disciplined. And looking back on it, wow. I totally apologize," said Bergman.
However, outside the courthouse, a group of protestors said the sentence is a miscarriage of justice.
"I can't even put it into words how I feel right now. I'm just very disappointed in how everything played out today and how this was carried out," said Wendy Barnhart. Barnhart's daughter worked with Bergman at Luthor Home of Mercy and has serious concerns about his behavior.
Another woman at the protest, Elsebeth Baumgartner, says she doesn't understand how someone who committed a sex crime against a disabled woman isn't behind bars.
"What he did is as serious as it gets. He basically checks every box in terms of criteria under Ohio law, where you look at it, that makes this man a serious threat to the public," said Baumgartner.
Bergman was also fired as a teacher from Benton-Carroll-Salem schools in 2014 after multiple instances of misconduct toward students.
BCS Superintentent Guy Parmigian provided a timeline of the misconduct:
5/3/13: First incident I dealt with, with Joseph Bergman making contact with the lap of a HS student. Joseph Bergman was immediately removed from the classroom pending investigation.
8/8/13: Discipline of Joseph T. Bergman based on investigation: 10 days suspension without pay and a corrective action plan.
1/15/14: Pinching the cheek of a HS student led to the immediate removal of Joseph T. Bergman from the classroom.
2/14/14: Joseph T. Bergman's employment as a teacher officially ends.
While Parmigian had no comment on Bergman's current trial, regarding his behavior in 2014 Parimigian writes, "Benton-Carroll-Salem School District deplores the actions of Joseph T. Bergman, which led to his separation from our district as a teacher in 2014. Between May 2013 and February 2014, we acted swiftly and appropriately to address the behavior of Joseph T. Bergman. Our concern was then, and has always been with the safety and well-being of our students. The entire staff of Benton-Carroll-Salem Schools consider student safety and well-being our most critical duty and responsibility."