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WARREN -- A Niles man serving a 14- to 55-year prison sentence for his actions against victims as young as 5 has died in prison.
According to a news release from the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office, JoEllen Smith, chief of communications for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, confirmed that Paul Czoka, 78, died at 3:17 p.m. Tuesday at the Franklin Medical Center.
His cause of death was not disclosed.
Czoka, who had been incarcerated at Pickaway Correctional Institution 16 miles southwest of Columbus, had his parole request denied Feb. 11 on a 5-to-3 vote, with one abstaining -- reversing itself after Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, after learning the board had originally decided to release Czoka, requested the parole board hold a full board hearing.
Watkins and two of Czoka's victims traveled to Columbus to appeal to the full board to keep Czoka in prison, and he was to be held in prison at least until his next parole hearing in 2031.
Czoka was convicted and sentenced in 1992 by Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Mitchell Shaker on two counts of rape and two counts of pandering obscenity involving minors.
Former Judge W. Wyatt McKay took over the case and subsequently handled post-sentencing matters, such as denying Czoka's request for judicial release in 2016.
Czoka's victims were as young as 5 years old at the time and were relatives of an ex-girlfriend; the obscenity charges involved him taking pictures and videos of himself and the young victims during these acts.
One of his victims said during the testimony before the parole board that all of them "were all innocent happy children before this sexual deviant came into our lives," adding that she still fears the man and is concerned about him seeking revenge.
The release states 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, and Czoka threatened her, saying "I will kill your sister, mom and dad if you tell anybody" about what he was doing.
Watkins said they don't celebrate any individual's death, but Czoka chose to rape and photograph young children despite experiencing the advantages of a good family.
"These young victims have been affected by Czoka's actions for the rest of their lives," Watkins said. "Any release of this man, for even a short term, would have been traumatic for his victims, and they have a right for their safety to be considered."
Watkins said Czoka's life shows that one should never expect to be released from prison if they sexually abuse children, concluding in February that the only way to guarantee no more child victims was to let Czoka die in prison.