Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office announced that Gary Drach, 52, of Blackwood, was sentenced on May 18th to two concurrent seven-year terms in New Jersey state prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting two girls under age 13 in Deptford Township when he was at least four years older than the victims.
Officials said Drach will serve the confinement at the state Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, a facility for sex offenders, where he previously served seven years for aggravated sexual assault, Superior Court Judge Kevin T. Smith said in sentencing Drach. The Avenel center’s most recent evaluation of Drach concluded he is a repetitive and compulsive offender, which made him eligible for treatment at the center. He has agreed to return there for further treatment.
Authorities said Drach was released from confinement in Avenel in 2006 in connection with offenses that occurred in 1997 in Washington Township. Therefore, the sexual assaults in 1991 or 1992 to which he pleaded guilty on Jan, 29th cannot be considered relapses, Judge Smith.
However, Judge Smith said that despite the “behavioral tools” to curb sexual urges that Drach received in treatment at Avenel, he remains concerned that the defendant could have dormant problems and he gave that “significant weight” in sentencing.
According to authorities, before sentencing, one of the victims addressed the court about the impact of Drach’s offenses, which she said shocked and confused her and did not surface until more than 20 years later, when the recollections put her in a crisis center. She now considers herself a survivor and plans to become an advocate for sexual abuse victims, she said.