Scott Blankenburg pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. A jury found Mark Blankenburg guilty of molesting three former patients, and other charges involving drugs and money he paid the patients for their silence. He was sentenced to 20 to 27 years in prison.
The 12th District judges dismissed claims that errors were made in indicting the doctor, allowing “other acts” testimony and for showing the jury 4,000 “child erotica” photos, among other issues.
The three-judge panel was unanimous in their decision to affirm the convictions. Judge Robert Ringland dissented on the photo issue.
Police collected more than 40,000 photos from the house the Blankenburgs shared with their father. The Blankenburgs were photo buffs and snapped shots at Hamilton schools athletic events for years. The majority opinion said the sheer volume of photos - that were not in and of themselves terribly risque - was admissible evidence.
“The admission of roughly 4,000 photos would certainly appear, at first blush, to support Blankenburg’s argument that such evidence was cumulative,” Judge Stephen Powell wrote. “However, a review of the record reveals that the collection of photographs was, in itself significant. This collections of photographs was the evidence.”
Ringland disagreed.
“By admitting such an overpowering number of photographs in conjunction with the compelling testimony of Dr. Sharon Cooper, the state’s expert witness on ‘child erotica,’ the trial court essentially allowed the state to introduce inadmissible character evidence indicating Mark Blankenburg had a propensity for young boys so pervasive that it rose to the level of repulsive perversion,” he wrote.
Mark Blankenburg’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
The Blankenburgs not only face years in prison, a jury trial has been set for next January in a case filed by two of their victims seeking in excess of $25,000 and punitive damages. Their medical malpractice insurance company has also asked the courts to declare it is not liable to pay any damages that might be awarded in the victim’s lawsuit.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.
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