Mar 17, 2018 2 min read

A Midway man was convicted on child rape and other charges stemming from allegations he sexually abused two girls at a home in Mt. Pleasant Township.

A Washington County jury convicted Steve Czako, 45, Thursday of charges including rape, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault of a victim under 13, forcible indecent assault and indecent assault of a victim under 16.

Jurors returned their verdict – finding him not guilty on two other counts including aggravated indecent assault – at the end of Czako’s two-day trial before Judge Valarie Costanzo, who revoked Czako’s bond pending his June 7 sentencing.

Czako maintained his innocence and testified he could “not come up with a complete answer” when asked by his attorney why the girls would lie about the abuse, Assistant District Attorney Kristin Clingerman said Friday.

Czako abused the older of the two victims starting in the early 2000s when she was about 8. The abuse of the second victim spanned several years starting in 2012, when she was 11.

The prosecutor also said the older victim “broke down on the stand” because of the abuse of the second victim, which she felt she could have prevented.

Clingerman said Children and Youth Services received a report pertaining to Czako’s abuse of the older victim in 2011, when she was “just a kid” and wouldn’t corroborate the allegation.

“She didn’t want to get him in trouble,” Clingerman said. “She didn’t want to get in trouble.”