Butler County Judge Sets $500,000 Bond for West Chester Man Charged With Sexually Abusing Teens
A Butler County Common Pleas Judge set bond at $500,000 on Wednesday for a West Chester Township man accused of sexually abusing teenage male victims in four area communities.
Michael Lesko, 34, was charged by a grand jury last month on seven counts of first-degree rape, six instances of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony, and eight counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor, all fourth-degree felonies.
According to prosecutors and police, the accusations stem from alleged offenses in Middletown, Miamisburg, Madison Township, and West Chester Township that involved five victims.
According to prosecutors and police, the accusations stem from alleged offenses in Middletown, Miamisburg, Madison Township, and West Chester Township that involved five victims.
Lesko waived extradition from Georgia, where he had been captured, and was brought back to Butler County for trial. He was booked into the county jail on Sunday.
He was arraigned Wednesday by Common Pleas Judge Michael Oster Jr., who set his bond. If he is granted bond, Lesko will be required to wear a GPS monitor and will be prohibited from contacting the claimed victims or acting as a counselor for anybody under the age of 18.
According to the accusation, Lesko committed the abuse over 15 years, from April 2008 to July 2023.
The victims, as young as 13, were befriended and reportedly groomed by Lesko, who worked as a social worker, volunteer juvenile counselor, and personal mentor, and managed a privately run counseling agency out of his home in West Chester Township.
Because of the grooming activity and the trusted positions Lesko held, it is possible that further victims have not been located, and the inquiry is ongoing, according to police.
“We have not specifically been able to tie any of these offenses to positions that Mr. Lesko held,” West Chester Township Lt. David Tivin said last month, following Lesko’s arrest.
However, he stated that because Lesko’s positions have provided services to children and adolescents, “due to the nature of how rapport was built with victims and his exposure to a large number of juveniles through the positions that he held, we just want to make sure there are no other victims out there.”