Steve Smetana, a former Berkshire baseball coach, has been charged with sexually assaulting and raping a juvenile, according to police and court records.
Steve Smetana, a former Berkshire baseball coach, has been charged with sexually assaulting and raping a juvenile, according to police and court records.
Smetana, 53, of 13875 Hall Road in Claridon Township, was arrested at his home May 4 by Parma Heights Police during a four-hour search that involved multiple law enforcement agencies, said Sgt. Eric Taylor, a Parma Heights detective who was on scene.
According to Taylor: Smetana met a 12-year-old girl on a chat platform and started communications that led to text messages.
He met with the alleged victim at her home in Parma Heights, where the two engaged in sexual intercourse, Taylor said.
On several other occasions, the two also met at a nearby church and drove to a nearby park where other sexual activities took place, Taylor said.
The alleged victim and her family contacted Parma Heights police on April 27, and two detectives started to investigate the case, Taylor said.
The rape charge in Parma Municipal Court is a first-degree felony.
Smetana was being held at the Parma Detention Center before his May 5 bond hearing.
Chardon Municipal Court Judge Terri Stupica signed the search warrant of Smetana’s home, and the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office helped execute it, along with other Cuyahoga County law enforcement agencies.
Smetana served as Berkshire’s head baseball coach from 2009 to 2016 and helped with the improvement and maintenance of Gander Field, the Badgers’ home field.
His turf company, Field of Play, which he started in 2007, installed synthetic grass and sports turf for various projects across Ohio and several other states in the area and south. Field of Play was hired by Berkshire Schools to install the turf football field at Great Lakes Cheese Stadium when it opened in 2022.
Smetana, a 1991 Cardinal graduate, was inducted into the Cardinal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. He played baseball at Kent State University and signed with the Boston Red Sox as a left-handed pitcher in 1996, rising to level Double-A before retiring in 2001.
Taylor said the case against him remains under investigation, and that items found at Smetana’s home could be used to bring more charges when the case is sent to a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury.
Smetana’s attorney was unknown at the time of publication.
