A Sharon man whose son was sentenced on drug and attempted robbery charges has filed a complaint with the state Judicial Conduct Board against a Mercer County judge.

Patrick L. Bailey, 531 Cedar Ave., said in his complaint that Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas R. Dobson "made negative comments in open court," referring "to me directly or indirectly as being abusive toward my son, Michael (Bailey)."

In his complaint Patrick Bailey referred to a Herald story in which the judge was quoted.

When Dobson sentenced 22-year-old Michael V. Bailey to 2 1/2 to 5 years in a state penitentiary in September, he said he realized Bailey was abused as a child and "A lot of the blame is on the parents."

Bailey was sentenced after pleading guilty to his role in a September 1999 attempted robbery of a Kilgore Mobile Home Park residence in Hermitage. Hermitage police spotted Bailey among an armed group at Hermitage Middle School near the trailer park.

During another sentencing for Michael Bailey on Thursday, Patrick Bailey told Dobson that he did not abuse his son.

"He was being abused by both parents. Your son's own statements say that," Dobson shouted at Patrick Bailey. Citing statements Michael Bailey made in a presentence report, Dobson said arguments between Bailey and his former wife created the abusive situation.

Patrick Bailey then asked the judge to produce documentation to back up his statements.

In his complaint to the state Judicial Conduct Board, Bailey said Mercer County Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Wherry and the late Judge Albert E. Acker had not formed the same opinion since they had placed a younger Michael in his father's care.

Patrick Bailey said he wants Dobson to review the record and, if court records show he was not abusive toward Michael, to apologize.

After a preliminary investigation, counsel will recommend to the 12-member state Judicial Conduct Board whether to continue the investigation, said Toni Schreffler, board spokeswoman. If the board decides no further investigation is warranted, the case will be dismissed.

Dobson told The Herald he is not concerned about Bailey's complaint.

Like a grand jury investigation, the state Judicial Conduct Board's investigation, as well as whether a complaint has been filed, is confidential, unless the board brings formal charges to the state Court of Judicial Discipline, Ms. Schreffler said.

Besides making his complaint to the conduct board, Patrick Bailey has complained openly about Dobson. On Oct. 2, Bailey, who said he is trained as a paralegal, attached a note to the Call of the List easel in the second-floor hallway of the courthouse. The note said Dobson showed "extreme prejudice" by his comments and that his son did not receive an adequate defense from public defenders.

Bailey said he put the note there because he was under the impression that Dobson would not talk to him.

Bailey said Michael Bailey's defense attorney told him to take down the note, or the judge would be harder on Michael.

Thursday Dobson sentenced Michael Bailey for his guilty plea to possession with intent to deliver marijuana. Dobson sentenced him to 6 to 24 months in a state penitentiary to be served at the same time as his sentence for the attempted robbery.