Former South Fayette assistant coach convicted in teen sexting case
An Allegheny County jury found a former California University of Pennsylvania assistant football coach guilty on charges stemming from allegations he sent sexually explicit messages to two South Fayette teenage boys.
Jurors rendered that verdict Dec. 7, convicting Patrick Onesko, 28, of East Millsboro, on charges of criminal solicitation, unlawful contact with a minor and two counts of corruption of minors. The trial began Dec. 5 and was held before Judge Alexander Bicket.
South Fayette police filed charges March 14. Their investigation began the month before, when a township man reported his son had received sexually explicit messages from a man using Snapchat, a popular social media cellphone app. Police said a photo of Onesko was seen in some of the conversations involving a person identified as “Coach O.”
Investigators searched Onesko’s parents’ South Fayette home, confiscating a computer and cellphone.
Stephen Misko, Onesko’s attorney, wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Bicket ordered Onesko’s bond revoked following the verdict. Sentencing is scheduled for March 1.
Onesko coached at South Fayette from 2009 to 2014. He was a part-time assistant coach at Cal U. for about a year but was fired shortly after the accusations against him surfaced. He’d previously been a volunteer with the university’s athletic department.
Mike Manko, a spokesman for the Allegheny County district attorney’s office, said Onesko will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Manko declined further comment on the case.