Jury to determine fate of Youngtown man

The trial of a Youngtown man accused of sexually molesting three young girls has gone to the jury. Deliberations began this morning in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Jon Solnicka, 40, is charged with three felony counts of sexual molestation of a child after three girls, ages 7, 10, and 11 accused him of touching them inappropriately in his pool in June 2007.

Solnicka is a probation absconder who has admitted to the rape of a 10-year-old girl in Douglas County, Ore. in 1989. He was sentenced to 20 years, serving five.

In 2000, Solnicka, his wife, Maria, and their daughter moved to Youngtown where he worked odd jobs as a handyman. Solnicka also has a 4-year-old son.

On Wednesday, the final witnesses, including Youngtown Police Sgt. David Evans and a physician for a child abuse prevention and education agency took the stand. They followed a list of witnesses who testified, including the three alleged victims, their parents, and forensic interviewers.

Solnicka's victim from 1989 also took the stand to recount the story of her sexual molestation.

The Youngtown girls testified Solnicka had touched them while playing in his pool. In testimony, Solnicka was reported to have the neighborhood children over to his home to play often and provided them soda and food and access to the pool, tree house and video games.

While in the pool, the children and Solnicka would play a game called shark attack. It was during the game when the alleged sexual molestation took place.

One girl, who was wearing a swimsuit with a hole in it that she concealed by wearing a pair of shorts, testified Solnicka pulled them down before touching her through the hole. The girl's brother, who was there, saw what happened and jumped on Solnicka's back to divert his attention away from his sister, according to testimony.

Another girl alleged Solnicka had touched her inappropriately.

Solnicka's wife, Maria, and daughter testified on his behalf. The defendant never took the stand.

Among the testimony highlights, according to Evans, were the girls identifying personal belongings including hair ties, boots and trinkets Solnicka had hung inside a storage trailer behind his home. The shed was where the girls changed their clothes to go swimming and the girls said there was a video camera in the shed, which was allegedly removed before police conducted their search of the property. Also in the shed were pornographic magazines with photos of individuals who appear to be under the age of 21.

Solnicka's wife, who began writing to Solnicka from her Guadalajara home as a prison pen pal, was told why he was in prison and continued to correspond daily for two years. When Solnicka was released from prison, he traveled to Mexico and married Maria the day he met her and brought her back to the United States.

After incurring a back injury from working at a dairy plant, Solnicka violated the terms of his probation and moved to Arizona, first moving in with his mother in Sun City West, officials said.

He didn't register as a sex offender, and the couple had their vehicles and home listed in Maria's name only, officials said.

Prosecutor Rachel Phipps-Yonas painted Solnicka as man who hid a secret from the rest of the world.

"Even people who lived in his neighborhood and who allowed their children to play at his home or who socialized with the family and invited him into their homes were not exactly sure who he was," Phipps-Yonas said. "They had no idea the secrets he was concealing."

Defense attorney Dianne Sullivan said the girls' stories and facts had too many inconsistencies.

"There is only one version of the truth, and we have multiple versions here," Sullivan said. "He's a family man who didn't fly under the radar. The children came over uninvited."

Phipps-Yonas said Solnicka's attraction to young girls was the motivation to risk the life he built with his wife and children.

"He is sexually attracted to little girls and can't help himself," Phipps-Yonas said. "And he thought he could get away with it."

"Don't let him get away with it," Phipps-Yonas told the jury. "Tell him that the rules do apply to him."

Solnicka could face more than 100 years in prison for the three felonies. Should he be convicted, he would serve the time specified in Arizona before returning to Oregon to finish his original sentence there.