May 22, 2013 2 min read

Three charges – rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and sexual intercourse with an animal – that Donora police filed last year against Damien Milchak were dismissed when he appeared in Washington County Court last week.

Milchak, 31, who now has a Washington address, entered a no-contest plea to endangering the welfare of a child, corrupting a minor and indecent assault.

“This boy’s father was in court,” Judge Katherine B. Emery said Wednesday. “The child didn’t want to testify. He is damaged emotionally and wasn’t going to be able to withstand cross-examination.”

The judge said she was placed in a position of having to put the young victim through a trial that could result in an acquittal, or having to drop charges against Milchak.

“This is a conundrum judges face,” Emery said. “That’s why it’s a serious job. It’s a difficult decision. Do you accept a lesser plea or do you force him to go to trial? The defendant was adamant. He was never taking a plea.”

The compromise included amending the criminal complaint against Milchak to the lesser charges and sentencing him to 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail, followed by five years’ probation and mental health evaluation, counseling, reporting to authorities for 15 years as a Megan’s Law offender and not having contact with the victim or his father. He also was ordered to be evaluated by the state Sexual Offender Assessment Board to determine if he is a sexually violent predator.

Milchak’s wife, Anastasia, 30, also of Washington, pleaded guilty to charges of indecent assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Emery sentenced her to 9 to 23 months in jail followed by two years probation and a with a five-year reporting requirement. She was assessed but found not to be a sexually-violent predator.