Steve Smetana was indicted on 12 charges, including five rape charges, each a first-degree felony, by a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury May 27.
Steve Smetana was indicted on 12 charges, including five rape charges, each a first-degree felony, by a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury May 27.
Smetana, 53, of Hall Road, Claridon Township, was arrested May 4 during a search of his home and is accused of raping a 12-year-old Parma Heights girl he met on a chat platform.
After meeting the victim online, that communication eventually led to text messages, said Parma Heights Sgt. Eric Taylor.
Smetana then met with the victim at her home in Parma Heights, where the two engaged in sexual intercourse, he said.
On several other occasions, the two also met at a nearby church and drove to a park, where other sexual activities took place, Taylor said.
Smetana is also charged with three counts of gross sexual imposition, two charges of importuning — both felonies — and one count each of grooming and possessing criminal tools.
Court records indicate Feb. 15 as the offense date. Taylor said the victim and her family contacted Parma Heights police on April 27, at which point two detectives started to investigate the case.
When reached, Smetana’s lawyer, Robert Botnick, of The Botnick Law Firm based in Shaker Heights, emailed a statement:
“Steve isn’t a stranger to this community; he has deep roots here. He has no prior criminal record and has spent years building relationships through his work, his business and his service to others.
“He is aware of the charges filed against him by the State of Ohio, and he is taking this matter seriously,” Botnick added. “Steve and our team look forward to our day in court, where these allegations can be addressed through the proper legal process and where the state will be held to its burden of proof. At this time, these are allegations only and we ask that the public reserve judgment.”
Smetana posted his $50,000 cash or surety bond on May 11 at Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court through Dana Bail Bonds in Cleveland and remains out of jail.
He is scheduled to make an initial appearance June 10 in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in downtown Cleveland.
A 1991 graduate of Cardinal High School, Smetana was inducted into the Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017 and served as Berkshire’s head baseball coach from 2009 to 2016.
His turf company, Field of Play, which he started in 2007, has installed synthetic grass and sports turf for various projects across Ohio and several other states, including the turf football field at Berkshire’s Great Lakes Cheese Stadium before it opened in 2022.
