A lifetime registrant as a convicted sex offender was promoted to a sexually violent predator prior to being sentenced for a second offense of possessing child sexual abuse materials on Thursday.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky made the designation upon Joseph Salvatore Dowd, 50, of Duryea, after the testimony of Paula Brust, a board member with the Pennsylvania Sexual Offender’s Board, and Pennsylvania Department of Corrections parole agent Jeremiah Johnson.
Johnson testified during a search of Dowd’s residence while he was on parole in May 2023, an infant-sized sex doll was found, as well as several cellular phones. One of the phones was used to download child sexual abuse images, which resulted in Dowd’s appearance before Sklarosky on Thursday.
Sklarosky sentenced Dowd to 25 to 50 years in state prison for possessing child sexual abuse materials, a charge Dowd did not contest.
Brust testified that she found Dowd met the criteria as a sexually violent predator due to an invasion of privacy conviction, when he hid a cellular phone in a child safety seat to secretly record women in the restroom of an Avoca restaurant where he formerly worked, and was convicted of possessing and sharing child sexual abuse images in 2017. Brust further noted Dowd’s own statements to detectives claiming he could not stop and needed help.
Assistant District Attorney Allyson L. Kacmarski noted Dowd’s prior convictions reflect an internal drive to re-offend.
“I’d like to say I’m sorry; I take full responsibility,” Dowd said prior to being sentenced. “I’m not a violent offender; I have no history of violence. I do ask the court for mercy. I’m 50 years old, and I’m asking for leniency so I can be with my family.”
Sklarosky advised that possessing child sexual abuse materials is a violent act, as children are involved. The judge noted that he was required under state law to advise Dowd that a third conviction for possessing child sexual abuse images is a sentence of life in prison.
Dowd was also ordered by Sklarosky to serve three years’ probation when released from state prison.
As a sexually violent predator, Dowd is subject to more stringent requirements, including reporting to state police four times per year and registering his residence, vehicle and place of employment for life.
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