Butler man pleads to sexual assault, to get prison term
After being charged with sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy in a Butler park, a Butler man pleaded guilty to the crime in county court on Wednesday.
Joseph M. Maggio, 24, entered a guilty plea to a felony count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse before Judge William Shaffer.
The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 4 to 8 years in a state prison.
Maggio will also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
A sexually violent predator evaluation was then ordered, and sentencing will be scheduled on the completion of that assessment by the Sexual Offenders Assessment Board.
Maggio was charged with felony involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a person less than 16 years old, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors, and misdemeanor indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old and endangering the welfare of a child after allegations that he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy in the summer or fall of 2016 at Butler Memorial Park.
Butler police began the investigation after a June 2017 report from ChildLine, the state's child abuse hot line.
The boy recounted the alleged assault to a forensic interviewer with the Butler County Alliance for Children, and reported that the incident occurred when he was 12.
The boy said Maggio told him not to tell anyone after the alleged assault, according to court documents.
Investigators later spoke to the boy's father, who told police that Maggio had made an “unsolicited statement” to him about the incident.
Police also said that Maggio admitted to the incident and that he knew the boy's age to be either 11 or 12.
Maggio continues to be held in Butler County Prison on $75,000 bail pending sentencing.
His attorney, Public Defender Maura Palumbi, made an oral motion to have Maggio's bail reduced during the proceeding.
She said Maggio before his arrest was living with his mother and grandmother, who is in ill health, and asked for house arrest pending sentencing so that Maggio could spend time with his ailing grandmother.
“This would be an opportunity to spend some time with his grandmother before heading to state prison,” she said.
Shaffer denied the motion, saying it was more appropriate for Palumbi to put her motion in writing, and he would consider bond modification or furlough later.
