Former Westmoreland deputy sheriff pleads guilty to sex crime; sentenced to probation term

A former Westmoreland County deputy sheriff pleaded guilty Friday to charges he bribed female inmates with tobacco products in return for sexual favors.

Daniel Aaron Gradischek, 34, of Unity, was charged in late 2019 with five criminal counts alleging that over a 10-year period he used his position as a deputy sheriff to leverage sexual contact with inmates he transported to and from the county jail.

“I am sorry to everyone and will dedicate myself to being a better man and a better family man,” Gradischek said as he pleaded guilty to one felony count of institutional sexual assault and a misdemeanor charge of official oppression.

Prosecutors dismissed three other charges include felony accusations of attempted institutional assault and criminal solicitation.

According to court records, witnesses claimed that during transports Gradischek propositioned female inmates, suggested they perform oral sex or grope him in exchange for cigarettes or other tobacco products.

Police claimed that incidents occurred when Gradischek was alone with female inmates in holding cells or inside district court restrooms to uncuff them, in the sheriff’s van during trips to the Greensburg courthouse and once at Excela Health Westmoreland hospital in Greensburg, where an inmate was receiving treatment.

Two women testified during a preliminary hearing last year that Gradischek offered them cigarettes to show him their body parts. An investigator claimed at least five other female inmates had been solicited for sex by Gradischek over a 10-year period ending in November 2018.

Defense attorney Mike Ferguson said Gradischek, who has been married for 14 years, has since undergone counseling and now works as a landscaper after he was fired as a deputy sheriff.

“There were mistakes made but fortunately none of this contact ever blossomed into anything significant,” Ferguson said.

Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr asked that Gradischek serve a short jail sentence.

Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio ordered Gradischek to serve six months of house arrest as part of a two-year probation sentence.

“You are a low risk to re-offend and cooperated with law enforcement when you made admissions to conduct police weren’t even aware of at the time,” the judge said.

Gradischek was originally questioned by police in an investigation involving another deputy sheriff in 2018.

Allegations against Gradischek arose the same time that another former sheriff’s deputy, Bobby Neiderhiser, 41, of Mt. Pleasant Township, was charged with corruption of minors for allegedly exchanging text messages with a 15-year-old girl, seeking sex with her and her juvenile friend.

Neiderhiser pleaded guilty in March 2020 to one misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to two years on probation, which included four months on house arrest.

Their former boss pleaded guilty earlier this week to a single misdemeanor theft charge and was sentenced to serve six months on probation. Former Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held, 48, formerly of Hempfield, was accused of stealing taxpayer money when he directed on-duty employees to perform tasks for his re-election campaign.

Held was defeated for a third term in office in 2019 and has since moved to Florida.