A trip to Columbus earlier this week by Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, several of his staff members and two victims in a child rape case led to the Ohio Patrole Board denying the release of convicted sex offender Paul Czoka.

Wakins said the full parole board voted 5-3, with one member abstaining, to keep Czoka in prison at least until his next parole hearing in 2031. In August, a three-member panel of the parole board granted Czoka’s request for parole, but Watkins and three victims appealed the decision, which led to the full parole board hearing this week during which they heard from Watkins and one of the victims.

Watkins said he was “very pleased” with the board’s decision and the courage shown by the victims. Czoka, now 78, was sentenced in 1992 to a term of 14 to 55 years in prison on two counts of rape and two counts of pandering obscenity involving minors. Czoka’s victims were as young as 5 years old at the time and were relatives of an ex-girlfriend. The obscenity charges involved Czoka taking pictures and videos of himself and the young victims during these acts.

In her testimony before the board, a victim talked about the pictures and videos Czoka had taken while having sex with her at the age of 8. These images were produced by Czoka using a tripod in the bedroom where one of his many rapes of children took place. Charlotte, who was sexually abused by Czoka for about four years, said along with her own relatives, there were probably many more victims out there.

“We were all innocent, happy children before this sexual deviant came into our lives,” she said.

She also said that Czoka still affects her life today, saying she feels uncomfortable around someone who has the same tone of voice or mannerisms as the child rapist.

“I remember being in the bedroom … and how I would hold my breath when I heard him creep down those steps. I had hoped he would pass by, but he never would,” she testified.

The victim also stated she is triggered by “the smell of tropical mist spray” that was present during those days of abuse.

The victim told the board she was raped at her mother’s house, at parks, at a relative’s home and many times in the car. She said that Czoka threatened her and he said, ‘I will kill your sister, mom and dad if you told anybody’ about what he was doing.”

She stated that she still fears Czoka and is concerned about him seeking revenge.

If Czoka was released, the victim stated: “I know it is a fact that there will be more victims…They may not be as lucky as me, because he would kill them rather than go back to prison.”

Watkins, prior to the hearing, had asked for a continuance because of a possible denial of another victim’s constitutional rights. A second victim had traveled to Columbus to testify against Czoka, but was told she would not testify because her name was not part of the “convicted charges” against the rapist.

Watkins stated that she may have a constitutional right to be heard, and that she was a proper, unnamed victim in the pandering of obscenity charges to which Czoka pleaded guilty. Watkins said he needed more time to review the law and make legal arguments, noting that for three months he was told this victim could testify, but the board denied the motion.

However, her written statement was reviewed by the full parole board before the hearing. In that statement, the second victim maintained that at age 5, she vividly remembers Czoka telling her, “Take your clothes off’ and “Don’t say anything or I will hurt you.”

She also remembers her aunt’s spare bedroom having “floral bed sheets” and the tripod with a camera in the bedroom where Czoka took pictures and the smell of “vanilla” which she associates with Czoka’s sexual attacks as they played “Hide and Seek.” She said she still dislikes the smell of vanilla. She told the parole board she “fears this man’s release.” It is a matter of personal safety for her.

In his presentation, Watkins states Czoka deserves the maximum sentence allowable by law because of these heinous acts. Watkins stated “only the core evil sex offenders want to photograph and film the rapes of young children victims where they are the lead performer.”

“Most child sex offenders from Trumbull County and elsewhere in Ohio do not make movies of what they are doing. That’s why extreme pedophiles like Czoka are so dangerous,” Watkins said. “Those who make movies of their sexual acts with children are still in prison.”

Czoka’s public defender stated that her client had a relatively clean prison record, did not have an extensive criminal history and was supported by many prison staff members. Watkins responded that Czoka “misled others and tried to say he made one mistake rather than telling the full story of what he did.” In other words, it was a “learned remorse syndrome. Good behavior in prison does not necessarily equate with good behavior outside prison.”

Watkins concluded the only way to guarantee that there will be no more child victims is to let Czoka die in prison.

Watkins also countered that evidence showed that Czoka’s sexual assaults dated back to 1971 in places like Girard, Niles and Weathersfield.

The public defender also said that Czoka is suffering from cancer and has a colostomy bag. If he were to be released, Czoka would have resided in a nursing home in the Alliance area of Stark County, she said.

However, the board decided to have Czoka remain in Pickaway Correctional Institution until his next parole hearing in 2031.