From staff reports
A former Venango County man has been found guilty in Venango County Court of more than 30 charges that accused him of raping and sexually assaulting a juvenile girl over the course of four years.
Michael O’Brien, 56, whose address is listed in court dockets as Clearfield, was convicted following a two-day jury trial Thursday and Friday before acting President Judge Marie Veon.
O’Brien, who had been a teacher and administrator at schools in Venango and Clarion counties, is being held without bail in the Venango County jail as he awaits his sentencing.
He was also convicted of two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault person less than 13 years of age and four misdemeanor counts of indecent assault forcible compulsion and indecent assault person less than 16 years of age.
Justin Fleeger, a Venango County assistant district attorney, prosecuted the case against O’Brien.
Police said in a criminal complaint that the girl’s mother told troopers she had found a video on a computer in her home in December 2019 of the girl and O’Brien discussing him touching her.
When the girl’s mother confronted O’Brien, he never denied the accusations and became angry, the complaint said.
When the girl’s mother spoke to her daughter about the video, the girl said she had recorded and uploaded the video to the computer and had recorded two other similar videos, according to the complaint.
The girl also told her mother she had been sexually abused by O’Brien since she was 10 or 11 years old and that O’Brien had engaged in sex with her, the complaint said.
The girl told police she had been abused by O’Brien between July 2015 and July 2019 on many occasions, and she also told police she had secretly recorded O’Brien in November 2019 and uploaded the video in December 2019 “in case something ever happened to her in the future,” the complaint said.
