Trial for accused sex offender faces delay

The trial date for the Jon Solnicka, a Youngtown man accused of sexually molesting three young girls in his backyard play pool, will most likely be moved to the end of May.

The trial start date of May 5 conflicts with prosecuting attorney Rachel Phipps-Yonas' other court schedule, she said in a trial management conference Monday.

Solnicka, 40, objected to the date change. Judge Larry Grant said the case will be heard before Judge Timothy Ryan in the next couple of weeks to determine whether to move the trial date.

"The parties are not of like minds today," Grant said.

Solnicka is a probation absconder from Douglas County, Ore., where he was sentenced to 20 years for the rape of a 10-year-old girl in 1989. He was paroled in 1994, having served five years of the sentence and in 2001 reportedly violated the terms of his probation when he fled the state.

Solnicka was arrested in June at his mother's home in Sun City West and was accused of molesting three girls, ages 7, 10 and 11, at the Youngtown home he shared with his wife and two children.

Solnicka continues to be held without bail in the Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix.