Norman man sentenced to 400 years for lewd molestation

May 13—A Norman man convicted of molesting underaged children over a two-year period received 400 years in prison Wednesday from a Cleveland County judge.

Anthony Lynn Dunn, aka Anthony Defreeze, was found guilty during a February jury trial of six counts of lewd molestation to a child under 16. On Thursday, District Judge Thad Balkman delivered on the jury's suggestion — which included individual sentencing recommendations of anywhere from 25 to 100 years per count — and gave Dunn 400 years, to be served consecutively.

Balkman said Wednesday as he delivered his decision that the sentences are "lengthy, but they're legal and they're just."

Dunn sexually assaulted two underaged victims, each not yet 12 years old, on multiple occasions between September 2015 and September 2017. During the trial, the state called not only the two victims in this case, but three others who testified they'd been molested by Dunn previously.

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Austin, who prosecuted the case, said the state and the victims' family are very pleased with Balkman's decision, which delivered the sentencing the state asked for Wednesday.

"We think that this defendant was held accountable," Austin said. "The jury obviously saw and believed these little girls, and considered what he did to them, both physically and emotionally, and sentenced him to those high numbers. The judge also felt that it was appropriate."

Victims and their family members, along with one juror from the February trial, were present Thursday; several cried after Balkman announced his decision.

"2017 is when these allegations came out, so it's been a long road for these little girls," Austin said. "So [the family is] obviously very pleased with the outcome, and they can now put it behind them."

Jamie Ray Page, who was charged in 2018 with enabling and failing to report child sexual abuse over a two-year period, will appear in court for a non-jury trial Monday, Austin said. Page allegedly allowed Dunn access to one victim and failed to report the abuse when the victim shared about the sexual assault with her.

Austin said Page could be sentenced herself on Monday, or could enter a plea before then.

Dunn, who represented himself at trial with assistance from standby counsel Al Hoch, denied the charges against him one last time Thursday, telling Balkman he was "being set up."

Just before delivering the 400-year sentence, Balkman told Dunn that he disagreed, and said Dunn had caused deep damage to his victims.

"The evidence showed at trial that you were guilty of six different counts, and the jurors found beyond a reasonable doubt that the state met its burden of proof," Balkman said. "I believe that you caused irreparable pain and suffering to the people that you preyed upon, these girls that were 30 years younger than you.

"You took advantage of them, you robbed them of their youth, and to this day, you maintain your innocence and deny culpability."

Emma Keith is the editor of The Transcript, where she covers Norman Public Schools and the University of Oklahoma. Reach her at ekeith@normantranscript.com or at @emma_ckeith.