https://triblive.com/local/allegheny/13542983-74/former-karate-instructor-guilty-of-sex-assaults-plotting-to-kill-accusers
Former karate instructor guilty of sex assaults, plotting to kill accusers
Megan Guza
Megan Guza | Monday, April 16, 2018, 2:33 p.m.
A jury on Monday found a former North Versailles karate instructor guilty of dozens of charges that he sexually abused students and then came up with jailhouse plots to have the victims killed before trial.
Michael Scherbanic, 30, of South Park was convicted on 69 charges: 42 relating to the sexual abuse of eight students and 27 related to his plot to kill them.
“I do not agree with the jury's verdict in total,” said Richard Narvin, Scherbanic's attorney. “I don't think the evidence was there to support some of the charges.”
The jury — made up of five men and seven women — disagreed, finding Scherbanic not guilty on only two of the original 71 charges. They included two counts of indecent assault on two of the victims.
Scherbanic remained shackled but not handcuffed for the duration of the trial, but sheriff's deputies placed him in handcuffs as the verdict was read. The trial had involved extra security, including a metal detector at the entrance of the courtroom and multiple deputies in the room, because of the nature of the charges and Scherbanic's martial arts experience.
As deputies led him from the courtroom Monday, he made a sexually suggestive gesture toward the victims.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel initially set sentencing for June 28, but Scherbanic waived his right to a pre-sentencing report in order to move from Allegheny County Jail to state prison sooner.
Narvin alluded to the sometimes harsh treatment of convicted child sexual abusers by other inmates.
“It's certainly nothing specific … in general, in cases like this when the individuals are incarcerated, there is a bad feeling amongst other people in the jail that cause people convicted of these sorts of crimes problems,” he said.
Narvin maintained Scherbanic's innocence in terms of the sexual abuse and assault charges. He also said that although Scherbanic admitted to making plans to kill his accusers, he never actually intended to harm them.
“He was concerned (about the seriousness of the charges) and therefore he probably did do some things that were probably unwise and certainly not helpful,” Narvin said. “But I think if you were there, anything he did do, he admitted to in the presence of the jury.”
Scherbanic was charged in February 2017 with soliciting murder, among other criminal solicitation charges. Together with his cellmate at the time, he came up with intricate plans that involved hand-drawn maps, Molotov cocktails, arson, bribery and intimidation.
The cellmate flipped on Scherbanic and told authorities about the plans. Scherbanic admitted in court last week that he made maps and plotted with the cellmate.
“I did write those things,” he testified. “I did tell him I wanted them dead.”
Those that he wanted dead included eight boys he was charged with molesting at his school, the Tang Soo Do Karate College, between 2008 and his arrest in June 2016.
Central to Scherbanic's defense was casting doubt on the credibility of his accusers as well as his argument that he'd never been alone with any of the children before 2014. The prosecution disputed that claim.
Narvin said he will continue to represent Scherbanic should he choose to appeal the verdict.
“My client has understood from the very beginning how serious this is … and he has always indicated to me his innocence with regard to the action with the young men,” he said. “That is still the case today.”
Sentencing is set for May 10.
Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8519, [email protected] or via Twitter @meganguzaTrib.
Former karate instructor guilty of sex assaults, plotting to kill accusers
Megan Guza
Megan Guza | Monday, April 16, 2018, 2:33 p.m.
A jury on Monday found a former North Versailles karate instructor guilty of dozens of charges that he sexually abused students and then came up with jailhouse plots to have the victims killed before trial.
Michael Scherbanic, 30, of South Park was convicted on 69 charges: 42 relating to the sexual abuse of eight students and 27 related to his plot to kill them.
“I do not agree with the jury's verdict in total,” said Richard Narvin, Scherbanic's attorney. “I don't think the evidence was there to support some of the charges.”
The jury — made up of five men and seven women — disagreed, finding Scherbanic not guilty on only two of the original 71 charges. They included two counts of indecent assault on two of the victims.
Scherbanic remained shackled but not handcuffed for the duration of the trial, but sheriff's deputies placed him in handcuffs as the verdict was read. The trial had involved extra security, including a metal detector at the entrance of the courtroom and multiple deputies in the room, because of the nature of the charges and Scherbanic's martial arts experience.
As deputies led him from the courtroom Monday, he made a sexually suggestive gesture toward the victims.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel initially set sentencing for June 28, but Scherbanic waived his right to a pre-sentencing report in order to move from Allegheny County Jail to state prison sooner.
Narvin alluded to the sometimes harsh treatment of convicted child sexual abusers by other inmates.
“It's certainly nothing specific … in general, in cases like this when the individuals are incarcerated, there is a bad feeling amongst other people in the jail that cause people convicted of these sorts of crimes problems,” he said.
Narvin maintained Scherbanic's innocence in terms of the sexual abuse and assault charges. He also said that although Scherbanic admitted to making plans to kill his accusers, he never actually intended to harm them.
“He was concerned (about the seriousness of the charges) and therefore he probably did do some things that were probably unwise and certainly not helpful,” Narvin said. “But I think if you were there, anything he did do, he admitted to in the presence of the jury.”
Scherbanic was charged in February 2017 with soliciting murder, among other criminal solicitation charges. Together with his cellmate at the time, he came up with intricate plans that involved hand-drawn maps, Molotov cocktails, arson, bribery and intimidation.
The cellmate flipped on Scherbanic and told authorities about the plans. Scherbanic admitted in court last week that he made maps and plotted with the cellmate.
“I did write those things,” he testified. “I did tell him I wanted them dead.”
Those that he wanted dead included eight boys he was charged with molesting at his school, the Tang Soo Do Karate College, between 2008 and his arrest in June 2016.
Central to Scherbanic's defense was casting doubt on the credibility of his accusers as well as his argument that he'd never been alone with any of the children before 2014. The prosecution disputed that claim.
Narvin said he will continue to represent Scherbanic should he choose to appeal the verdict.
“My client has understood from the very beginning how serious this is … and he has always indicated to me his innocence with regard to the action with the young men,” he said. “That is still the case today.”
Sentencing is set for May 10.
Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8519, [email protected] or via Twitter @meganguzaTrib.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2018/06/28/Michael-Scherbanic-karate-teacher-molesting-students-sentenced-allegheny-county-north-versailles/stories/201806280169
Ex-N. Versailles karate teacher gets 78-156 years in prison for molesting students
Jun 28, 2018
5:48 PM
An ex-teacher at a North Versailles karate school received Thursday what amounts to a life sentence for sexually assaulting eight students over an 11-year period.
With several victims and their families present, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel handed Michael Scherbanic, 30, of South Park, a sentence of 78 to 156 years in state prison.
Mr. Scherbanic was found guilty in April on dozens of charges, including multiple counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault, indecent exposure and endangering the welfare of children.
"You have overcome a horrible thing in your life," Judge McDaniel told the victims and their families Thursday. "From now on, it's going to get better."
Just minutes after Scherbanic was ushered into the courtroom, he began loudly questioning several victims who were seated in the jury bench. Sheriff's deputies quickly escorted him out of the courtroom.
Judge McDaniel cleared the courtroom. Upon reconvening about 10 minutes later, she said Scherbanic had declined to be present for the remainder of the sentencing.
During the April trial, several young men ranging in age from 14 to 22, testified that Scherbanic repeatedly forced them to perform oral sex on him in his office at Tang Soo Do Karate College between 2005 and 2016. They also said Scherbanic hosted sleepovers at the school and took them on outings to various entertainment venues.
Scherbanic had testified on his own behalf, denying that he sexually assaulted any of the eight victims. He admitted, however, to plotting with a fellow inmate at the Allegheny County Jail to kill some of those who testified against him.
As Scherbanic exited the courtroom after the guilty verdict was read on April 16, he made a lewd gesture toward many of the victims.
Several victims and their family members gave impact statements Thursday before Judge McDaniel read the sentence.
"I was ... raised religiously and that part of me strives to forgive you for what you did to me,” one victim said, addressing the absent Scherbanic. “But I will never, in this lifetime or the next, forget what you have done to me and caused everyone in this room to feel.”
One woman recalled the day her fiancé quit Scherbanic's school.
“I still remember the difference I saw in him that day,” she said. “It was almost as if tragedy had struck. … He has become so emotionally and mentally drained that he couldn’t even shed a happy tear when our daughter was born.”
Some victims expressed feelings of guilt for not having spoken up sooner, and some parents said they felt culpable for not having protected their children.
Before issuing her sentence, Judge McDaniel reassured the victims and their loved ones.
"I need to correct one thing in what you may be feeling: It's not your fault," she said. "The only person that is guilty — of 85 counts — is Michael Scherbanic."
Max Graham: [email protected] or @maxmugrah.
Ex-N. Versailles karate teacher gets 78-156 years in prison for molesting students
Jun 28, 2018
5:48 PM
An ex-teacher at a North Versailles karate school received Thursday what amounts to a life sentence for sexually assaulting eight students over an 11-year period.
With several victims and their families present, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel handed Michael Scherbanic, 30, of South Park, a sentence of 78 to 156 years in state prison.
Mr. Scherbanic was found guilty in April on dozens of charges, including multiple counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault, indecent exposure and endangering the welfare of children.
"You have overcome a horrible thing in your life," Judge McDaniel told the victims and their families Thursday. "From now on, it's going to get better."
Just minutes after Scherbanic was ushered into the courtroom, he began loudly questioning several victims who were seated in the jury bench. Sheriff's deputies quickly escorted him out of the courtroom.
Judge McDaniel cleared the courtroom. Upon reconvening about 10 minutes later, she said Scherbanic had declined to be present for the remainder of the sentencing.
During the April trial, several young men ranging in age from 14 to 22, testified that Scherbanic repeatedly forced them to perform oral sex on him in his office at Tang Soo Do Karate College between 2005 and 2016. They also said Scherbanic hosted sleepovers at the school and took them on outings to various entertainment venues.
Scherbanic had testified on his own behalf, denying that he sexually assaulted any of the eight victims. He admitted, however, to plotting with a fellow inmate at the Allegheny County Jail to kill some of those who testified against him.
As Scherbanic exited the courtroom after the guilty verdict was read on April 16, he made a lewd gesture toward many of the victims.
Several victims and their family members gave impact statements Thursday before Judge McDaniel read the sentence.
"I was ... raised religiously and that part of me strives to forgive you for what you did to me,” one victim said, addressing the absent Scherbanic. “But I will never, in this lifetime or the next, forget what you have done to me and caused everyone in this room to feel.”
One woman recalled the day her fiancé quit Scherbanic's school.
“I still remember the difference I saw in him that day,” she said. “It was almost as if tragedy had struck. … He has become so emotionally and mentally drained that he couldn’t even shed a happy tear when our daughter was born.”
Some victims expressed feelings of guilt for not having spoken up sooner, and some parents said they felt culpable for not having protected their children.
Before issuing her sentence, Judge McDaniel reassured the victims and their loved ones.
"I need to correct one thing in what you may be feeling: It's not your fault," she said. "The only person that is guilty — of 85 counts — is Michael Scherbanic."
Max Graham: [email protected] or @maxmugrah.
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2016/06/07/South-Park-karate-instructor-arrested-for-sexually-molesting-a-minor/stories/201606070183
South Park karate instructor accused of sexually molesting student
June 7, 2016 2:36 PM
By David Templeton / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A 28-year-old South Park man working as a karate instructor was arrested Thursday on multiple counts of sexual assault of a student, beginning in early April.
County detectives arrested Michael Aaron Scherbanic on felony charges of deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors with a misdemeanor count of indecent exposure.
Mr. Scherbanic remains free on $10,000 bond with his preliminary hearing before District Judge Roxanne Sakoian Eichler having been continued.
North Versailles police requested assistance from county detectives after the victim, whose age wasn’t listed, and his family reported that Mr. Scherbanic sexually assaulted the boy on three different occasions at the Tang Soo Do Karate College in North Versailles.
In an interview at the Child Advocacy Center of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, the boy said he was told during a sleep-over at the karate school that if he ever wanted to be invited back he had to show Mr. Scherbanic his private parts, leading to the first assault and followed by two other occasions. The child discontinued the karate classes on May 23, the complaint says.
David Templeton: [email protected] or 412-263-1578
South Park karate instructor accused of sexually molesting student
June 7, 2016 2:36 PM
By David Templeton / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A 28-year-old South Park man working as a karate instructor was arrested Thursday on multiple counts of sexual assault of a student, beginning in early April.
County detectives arrested Michael Aaron Scherbanic on felony charges of deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors with a misdemeanor count of indecent exposure.
Mr. Scherbanic remains free on $10,000 bond with his preliminary hearing before District Judge Roxanne Sakoian Eichler having been continued.
North Versailles police requested assistance from county detectives after the victim, whose age wasn’t listed, and his family reported that Mr. Scherbanic sexually assaulted the boy on three different occasions at the Tang Soo Do Karate College in North Versailles.
In an interview at the Child Advocacy Center of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, the boy said he was told during a sleep-over at the karate school that if he ever wanted to be invited back he had to show Mr. Scherbanic his private parts, leading to the first assault and followed by two other occasions. The child discontinued the karate classes on May 23, the complaint says.
David Templeton: [email protected] or 412-263-1578