Plum man pleads guilty to sexual assault of 14-year-old girl

About a year after the incident, John Dale Vorous, 62, has pleaded guilty to statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors for having sex with a 14-year-old girl he picked up outside a bar in Plum in June 2024.

Vorous initially was charged with a bevy of sex crimes, but prosecutors withdrew most charges as part of a negotiated guilty plea. Allegheny County Judge Bruce Beemer sentenced Vorous to 11½ to 23 months in jail and five years probation.

Vorous admitted to taking two girls, ages 14 and 15, to his Plum home after encountering them outside Center Tavern close to midnight in June 2024, police said in the criminal complaint against him.

He admitted to giving both girls marijuana and having sex with the 14-year-old, the complaint states.

The girls spent the night at Vorous’ house, and he took them to a bus stop the next morning, according to police.

He was arraigned in Plum district court last August and released on nonmonetary bond. But he was arrested soon after in Venango County on DUI, fleeing and resisting arrest charges.

Police said Vorous crashed his car as he fled from a traffic stop shortly after 2 a.m. Vorous appeared to be highly intoxicated and ignored an officer’s commands, according to police. He got out of his car and walked toward the officer, telling him repeatedly to shoot him, the complaint states.

He had been in Venango County jail since September before being transferred to the Allegheny County Jail in July.

In April, a Venango County judge sentenced Vorous to three to six months in jail for the DUI charge and seven to 23 months in for fleeing and alluding.

Vorous’ attorney, Paul Zavarella, could not be reached for comment.