Judge Thomas Rose is set to sentence Konat on July 25.
Konat’s federal legal trouble began in Clark County after a woman alerted authorities that she suspected her child was a victim of Konat’s. The 11-year-old and Konat was known to each other, according to court records.
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Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Melchi was sent to meet with the child’s mother because she claimed she found nude pictures of her daughter on Konat’s phone, an affidavit says.
“She then showed me several still pictures of who she identified as her 11-year-old daughter,” the affidavit says. “The images were of the juvenile female in the shower, completely naked.”
Konat agreed to go to the sheriff’s office for an interview, the affidavit says, where he initially denied having anything to do with the photos.
The mother of the child brought a digital memory card to the office, Melchi wrote, and on it, the investigator found a video.
“It showed Dalton setting up his phone, hiding it under the toilet in the bathroom, putting items around it to conceal the camera and phone,” the affidavit says. “He then leaves the bathroom and the juvenile female comes in.”
At the end of the video, Dalton allegedly can be seen removing the phone, the affidavit says.
“It did not appear by the video the juvenile female had any idea he was videotaping her,” the court record says.
After showing Konat the video, Melchi said Konat allegedly told him that he has a problem.
“The (mother) was brought in at the end of the interview to talk to him and he just continued saying he was sorry,” the affidavit says.
Konat pleaded guilty on June 28, 2018, but his sentencing has been continued numerous times since then. The last time he was in court, a psychologist testified that Konat was attracted to pubescent girls who display secondary sexual characteristics such as pubic hair and breast development.
Dr. Scott Bresler, the clinical director at the University of Cincinnati Division of Forensic Psychiatry who was called by the defense, said Konat is remorseful about his actions.
“He knows that he needs help … treatment for a long period of time,” Bresler said of Konat, who was not alleged to have any sexual contact with the victim. “He cried. He said that he was very disappointed in himself and that he’s sorry for any psychological damage that she may have suffered from being deceived by him.”
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