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Source: Dayton Daily News, OhioSept.self storage 29--In recent months, several of the Dayton area's most prominent senior citizens -- James Trent, 80, Clayton Councilman Robert Peters, 82, and renowned educator James Uphoff, 75 -- have been arrested on sex charges.It's a trend that has local experts on aging wondering about the impact of America's growing older population on the nation's judicial system. Some psychologists and gerontologists believe that medical conditions and even medications can create personality changes in patients with no obvious signs of dementia.Related Photo+ Sex cases concern experts on aging photo Staff PhotoJames S. Trent, 80, resigned Tuesday from the Kettering Board of Education. He was charged Sept. 18 with sexual imposition and disorderly conduct after an incident in his neighborhood. He has pleaded not guilty. STAFF PHOTOStaff PhotoJames S. Trent, 80, resigned Tuesday from the Kettering Board of Education. He was charged Sept. 18 with sexual imposition and disorderly conduct after an incident in his neighborhood. He has pleaded not guilty. STAFF PHOTO?"This is an area we've been looking at for a long time," said Uphoff's attorney, Jon Paul Rion. "I see the day on the horizon of a science developed that would support the idea there are physical changes that could account for changes in behavior."Clinical psychologist Bruce Kline of Kettering said the situation may bear comparison with the accommodations that are made for juvenile offenders: "Teenagers are clearly different in developmental maturity. They're impulsive by definition. We are not going to excuse it, but we provide opportunities about how to address the behavior."The court could adopt a similar approach with older defendants, Kline said, "by allowing a careful scrutiny of medical history and medical records, such as mini-strokes or brain surgery."Related Photo+ Sex cases concern experts on aging photoJames Uphoff, 75, of Oakwood, has been indicted on one federal charge of possessing child pornography. His lawyer said he intends to plead guilty to one count of possessing child pornography when he is scheduled to appear in court next month. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOJames Uphoff, 75, of Oakwood, has been indicted on one federal charge of possessing child pornography. His lawyer said he intends to plead guilty to one count of possessing child pornography when he is scheduled to appear in court next month. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO?Peters, who is seeking re-election for his Clayton council seat on the Nov. 5 ballot, has pleaded not guilty via his attorney, Richard Skelton, to a misdemeanor charge after being accused of fondling a female Northmont City School District employee last month. Skelton did not return calls from the Dayton Daily News.Rion said that Uphoff intends to plead guilty to one count of possessing child pornography. His arraignment and plea agreement hearing, originally scheduled Sept. 24 before U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice, has been continued until next month at the request of the federal prosecutor.Are there warning signs?Related Photo+ Sex cases concern experts on aging photo Contributed photoClayton City Councilman Robert E. Peters, 82, was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct based on complaints by a female Northmont City School District employee on Aug. 30. He has pleaded not guilty. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOContributed photoClayton City Councilman Robert E. Peters, 82, was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct based on complaints by a female Northmont City School District employee on Aug. 30. He has pleaded not guilty. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO?When asked whether medical conditions could have influenced Uphoff's behavior, Rion replied, "The science isn't developed enough for me to comment on that."Trent, a former Kettering superintendent and namesake for the $8.8 million Trent Arena, resigned Thursday from his 18-year tenure as a Kettering school board member, with 14 years as president. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday to two misdemeanor charges of sexual imposition and disorderly conduct stemming from a Sept. 13 incident in which he is accused of forcefully kissing a 22-year-neighbor and grabbing her buttocks. His attorney, David Williamson, declined comment. According to documents in Kettering Municipal Court, during interviews with police Trent "confessed to his inappropriate behavior and apologized for his actions."In 2009, the newspaper reported that Trent underwent brain surgery to remove a blood clot. His wife, Pat Trent, told the newspaper at the time that her husband suffered the injury after falling down a flight of stairs while they were on vacation.Local experts declined to speak about Trent's case specifically, but said that brain surgery and blood clots on the brain could result in personality changes, even in patients who seem outwardly unaffected.The personality could be affected if damage is inflicted on the brain's fronto-temporal lobe, which controls impulses, according to Kate de Medeiros, assistant professor of gerontology at Miami University's Scripps Gerontology Center. The most frequent causes, she said, are accidents, head trauma or vascular dementia -- although not Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia. "If the fronto-temporal lobe is damaged, people have no filter," she said. "They react to what happens to be there, such as grabbing someone's breast."A blood clot mini storagen the brain, depending on its location and the extent of the damage, "could influence judgement or the ability to filter out inappropriate things," she said.'Risk of being ageist'Kline said that a mini-stroke or a blood clot "can cause real trouble. The decision-making part of your brain isn't up to speed."But, de Medeiros said, such changes would not appear out of nowhere, but gradually would become noticeable to family members. "The really important thing to remember is that disinhibited behavior is not a normal part of dementia," she added. "Unless you can demonstrate there's something wrong, we don't want a double standard simply because someone is old. We run the risk of being ageist if we don't acknowledge people as independent human beings."It's a gray area for both psychology and the law, Kline said. Patients with full-blown dementia, for instance, are never charged with sexual imposition, no matter how egregious the offense. "A lot of what happens in nursing homes is inappropriate, abhorrent and wrong, but these individuals are never charged," he said.More subtle changes could also be mitigating factors, he added, even if the person seems to be functioning normally. "It may not be apparent to the people around them because they are so good at what they are doing on a regular, day-in, day-out basis," Kline said. "People say, 'He is so good, he is so sharp,' but they are ignoring the things that are beginning to happen."Some psychotropic drugs or even blood-thinning medication commonly prescribed to the elderly can cause aggression or changes in behavior, Kline noted, but physicians often do not warn patients for fear of scaring them off. "They miss the mark if they don't address the possible significant consequences with patients," he said.Kline believes it is time for the judicial system to look at the issue with creativity and compassion: "I wish the courts could be thoughtful about recognizing the individuality of the person involved. That should be not just for a local luminary but for someone off the street."Kline said that individuals suffering from early cognitive decline may function well in tasks that are very familiar, yet stumble with new tasks. They may be able to perform their jobs, he said, yet struggled with the remote control.Neither Trent's school board colleague Julie Gilmore nor Kettering Superintendent James Schoenlein had noticed any changes in his behavior in recent years. "He was sharp as a tack," Schoenlein said. "He has been of great service to the school district for decades. I am shocked."Respect for victimsBoth said the allegations seem very out of character with the Trent they know. "Jim has definitely been a good colleague on the school board, and he has served on so many volunteer committees for the city," Gilmore said. "He has been at board meetings and has been very focused on working on the school levy."Tom Hagel, a professor at the University of Dayton College of Law, said he would wonder about possible dementia or brain injury if a person started committing sex crimes later in life. "It would be very odd for that to crop up later in life," he said.The flip side of that argument, he said, is that powerful men have been getting away with sexual harassment for decades. "It was a man's world for men growing up in the '30s and '40s and '60s, and they are elderly now," Hagel said. "Some men bought into that, and this may be a reflection of that, especially when the individual is in a powerful position in terms of power. They may think it's not that bad, and they're immune from taking responsibility for their actions. The victims may be afraid of losing their jobs if they speak up."Hagel said he has a great deal of respect for victims who come forward: "People may tell them that it's no big deal, and you're trying to ruin his life."As the population ages, this will become an increasingly complicated issue for our judicial system, predicted Hagel, an acting judge for the Dayton Municipal Court. "Dementia is a complete defense if it is so severe that someone doesn't know what they are doing," he said. "But there are so many people in between."Unlike some other states, Ohio law does not allow for a "diminished capacity" defense, Hagel said, but a milder form of dementia or senility may affect sentencing. For instance, a judge might sentence the convicted person to probation with mandatory treatment rather than jail time.The aging of the Baby Boomer generation, Hagel said, will have a "huge impact on the judicial system."Read the complete story...The story you're reading is premium content for subscribers of the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun, Hamilton JournalNews and Middletown Journal. Not a subscriber? 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