A Kent man remains free on bond while he awaits sentencing for soliciting a minor to engage in sexual activity. Legally termed importuning, it is a third-degree felony. The alleged victim is a 12-year-old boy who attended a Kent parochial school.
Patrick T. Warczak, an attorney who worked in corporate law when he was apprehended, pleaded guilty Jan. 27 to the charge. According to an April 23, 2024, complaint filed in Portage County Common Pleas Court, the boy’s mother told a deputy with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office that her son was being “inappropriately messaged” on his cell phone by Warczak, whom she described as a family friend.
The mother stated that her children attend school with the defendant’s children, and that Warczak’s wife coached the track team, which her son belonged to.
Dating from December 2023 to April 2024, one of the messages allegedly involved Warczak “hoping to share a room” with her son during a school field trip to Washington, D.C.
The complaint details hundreds of what it claims are “disturbing and inappropriate messages,” including those which allegedly hint at Warczak’s possible interest in other juvenile victims. The sheriff’s office investigation also found computer-generated graphic images involving pre-teen and teenage boys on Warczak’s cell phone.
Warczak was arrested April 26, 2024, but posted bond and was released the same day. His sentencing is currently scheduled for April 28.
Portage County prosecutors are asking Portage County Common Pleas Judge Laurie Pittman for the maximum sentence of five years and requesting that upon being released from prison, he serve two years of probation, with additional penalties if he violates the conditions of that probation.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.