Middletown man sentenced to up to 21 years in prison for ‘worst case’ of child neglect

A Middletown man could spend more than two decades in state prison for what one doctor called the “worst case” of child neglect he’s ever seen.

On Monday, Judge Wallace Bateman Jr. sentenced 54-year-old Albert Dunkowski to nine to 21 years in prison.

Dunkowski and his estranged wife, Christine Dunkowski, 48, were found guilty at trial in October of three felony charges of endangering child welfare when they were found living with four of their children out of a car in August 2019.

The vehicle was bug-filled and dirty, and the children were severely neglected, according to authorities.

In sentencing Dunkowski, Bateman agreed with Deputy District Attorney Matthew Lannetti that the standard sentencing range for the offenses Dunkowski were found guilty of did not consider the level of neglect the children suffered.

“They are woefully inadequate in this case,” he said.

Prior to sentencing Monday, Albert Dunkowski apologized for his actions, saying he did not mean to hurt his children.

“I made a mistake,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

Lannetti took issue with that, saying that had been the first time Albert Dunkowski had taken any form of responsibility for the conditions of his children in the two years since his arrest.

Dunkowski said that, after seeing evidence of his one child’s neglect during the trial, he wanted to plead guilty. But the guilty plea agreement was contingent on his wife pleading guilty, which she did not do.

Lannetti said even so, Albert Dunkowski could have pleaded guilty without any agreement in place.

“He’s done nothing but cast blame on everyone else,” he said.

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Four of the children were found with the Dunkowskis on Aug. 27, 2019. They had been staying in a vehicle at the Woodbourne Train station in Middletown. Albert Dunkowski had said they were living at an encampment nearby.

None of the children had been enrolled in school, and all showed signs of neglect, according to police. Lannetti said the urine smell in the car was “unbearable.”

Authorities said the four were wearing soiled diapers that had not been changed in a long time. One of the children was 9 at the time.

One of his daughters, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, had bed sores.

The Dunkowskis refused to let their children be taken to a hospital when they were found. A paramedic on the scene notified an emergency room doctor at St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown and they took the children to the hospital after the doctor recommended it.

Bateman said the emergency room physician, who had years of experience, told authorities that it was the worst case of neglect he had seen.

“He’s dealt with people all over the country, and this is the worst case he’s ever seen,” the judge said. “Kind of puts it into perspective, don’t you think?”

Bateman said another member of medical staff, a former combat medic, had to go to another room to cry after seeing the extent of the neglect.

“The facts of this case, to say the least, are horrific,” the judge said.

Albert Dunkowski said in court that his family fell on hard times about a year and a half prior to the arrest. They lost their home, and had been living with friends and family ever since, and the night they were arrested, they had left a family members home after Christine Dunkowski got in an argument with someone, according to testimony.

He said he had been looking for a job in that time period, and that his wife had a substance abuse problem.

One of his daughters, who was not in the vehicle at the time and is an adult now, testified that her father was not a bad person.

“He just got put in the wrong situation at the wrong time,” she said.

She asked the judge to sentence him to probation, so she could see her father still.

“I just want my dad home,” she said.

The judge said he had heard what she said, but said Albert Dunkowski deprived his children of care and the basic needs they are entitled to. He noted that one of the malnourished children found in his car gained 26 pounds a few weeks after she was taken to the hospital.

The couple went to trial in October, but they did not show up for the third day of trial. Arrest warrants were filed, and the two were taken into custody out of state later that month. They were not in court when a jury found them guilty.

Albert Dunkowski told the judge he fled because he was scared to go to jail. He and his wife still face charges related to not showing up for trial.

Authorities found the Dunkowskis other children at family friends’ homes. The children who were found in the car have since improved, according to Lannetti.

A sentencing date has not been set for Christine Dunkowski as of Monday.

The judge sentenced Dunkowski to three to nine years in prison on each of the three counts he was convicted of, all of which will run consecutively. He was also ordered to not have contact with his minor children.

“To do anything else would depreciate the seriousness of what you did,” Bateman said.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County man sentenced to up to 21 years for ‘worst case’ of child neglect