Leader Publications

A South Bend man sentenced to prison “violated an entire family” in Niles Township in January, Berrien County Trial Court Judge Dennis Wiley said Monday.

“There is no excuse for what you did,” Wiley scolded Corey Joseph Hardiman, 26, while imposing a term of 16 to 60 months in prison in a plea agreement for second-degree criminal sexual conduct and aggravated indecent exposure.

“You cannot unring the bell” for the “total depravity of what you did,” Wiley said of the defendant who fondled a 2-year-old girl watching “Dora the Explorer.”

Hardiman, who read an apology letter, said he was sorry for “mistakes I cannot take back” and hoped one day his victims could forgive him.

Wiley, who also ordered Hardiman to pay $2,166, including a $500 fine and credit for 94 days in jail, said the incident might have gone undiscovered, but the girl’s teen-aged brother happened upon the scene while skipping school.

The judge said the youth is plagued with remorse because he blames himself for failing to protect his sister.