West Newton man pleads guilty to sex assault of young girl

A West Newton man will serve up to seven years in prison for sex crimes against a 4-year-old girl.

David L. Hresko, 34, pleaded guilty Monday to the aggravated indecent assault of a child, corruption of minors and child endangerment in connection with allegations made by a now 10-year-old girl.

Prosecutors said the girl claimed the abuse lasted about four years.

Five other counts were dismissed as part of a plea bargain in which Hresko was sentenced by Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani to serve three to seven years in prison. The judge also imposed a requirement that Hresko register as a convicted sex offender for the rest of his life.

The guilty plea came as Hresko’s jury trial was scheduled to start Monday morning.

Assistant District Attorney Pete Caravello said the victim and her mother agreed to the terms of the plea deal.

“They’re trying to put it all behind them and the plea removes the need for her to testify,” Caravello said.

According to court records, the investigation into Hresko’s behavior started early last year when the victim, then 8 years old, told her elementary school teacher she had been molested after a watching a presentation titled “Good touch, bad touch” from the Blackburn Center about child sexual abuse.

School officials contacted the county children’s bureau and police.

Hresko, according to court documents, said he pleaded guilty because it was in his best interest to do so.

Hresko, after his arrest in April 2019, sought to bar his victim from testifying at trial, claiming in a pretrial motion that because she claimed she was just 4 when the alleged abuses started she was not competent to give reliable testimony in court. Feliciani denied that claim earlier this year.