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Volume 56, No. 16
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CHESTERLAND NEWS Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Your Community Newspaper Since 1967 Second Delisio Brother Pleads ‘Not Guilty’ Staff Report Kevin Delisio, 39, of Chester Township, pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; kidnapping, also a first-degree felony; and aggravated menacing and assault, both first-degree misdemeanors, during his arraignment Dec. 18 at the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas. Kevin and his brother, Ronald Delisio, 42, also of Chester, reportedly assaulted a Kevin Delisio tow truck driver who was repossessing a vehicle Oct. 22. According to a press release by Chester Police Chief Craig Young, the driver was forcibly removed from his vehicle by two assailants, one of whom was armed with a gun. “Two individuals exited the vehicle and confronted the operator, one of whom was armed with a handgun. The armed suspect pointed the firearm at the tow truck driver and demanded the immediate release of the repossessed vehicle,” Young said. Kevin posted his $100,000/10% surety bond Nov. 1 and is out of jail. Maximum possible penalties for aggravated robbery and kidnapping include a prison sentence of 3-11 years, with an additional amount added via the Reagan Tokes law. As 11 years is the maximum, Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Paschke said, five and a half years could be added for a total of 16 and a half years in prison. Kevin could also face a fine of up to $20,000. The felony charges have the addition of a three-year firearm specification for brandishing. Menacing and assault, if convicted, could each carry a possible 180 day jail sentence and a fine of up to $1,000. Kevin’s case was assigned to Paschke. His bond was continued, with an addition of pretrial release. “What that means is that you’re required to be in contact with our probation department once a week,” Paschke said. “That can be either in person or by phone, as they direct.”
Emotions Run High As Cirino Gets 6 Months Jail
By Jamie Ward jamie@karlovecmedia.com
Lou Cirino, a once celebrated teacher and coach, was sentenced to six months in Geauga County jail Dec. 27 for a relationship he had with a student in 2009 and 2010 while working at West Geauga Schools. In a packed, emotional courtroom, Geauga County Common Pleas Judge David Ondrey heard from the victim and Cirino’s wife, Christi, before he sentenced Cirino on a gross sexual imposition charge, a fourth-degree felony. Cirino will have to register as a Tier 1 sex offender for the next 15 years. “You were in a position of authority and trust,” Ondrey told Cirino. “One of the things I’ve had to consider is deterrence for other young school officials, whether male or female. They need to understand the seriousness of upholding their obligation to refrain from inappropriate behavior.” “The collateral damage of sentencing is significant,” the judge continued. “Your wife and children don’t deserve to have to suffer, but it’s the victim I must consider.” Cirino’s laywer, Joseph R. Klammer of Mentor, asked Ondrey for no jail time. Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz asked for an 18-month prison sentence. The day marked an end to a year-long staggering fall from grace for Cirino, a 2002 West Geauga graduate. Strongsville police began investigating him last December after he had been removed as the Mustangs football coach. “I’m embarrassed, I’m disgusted,” Cirino, 41, told Ondrey as he read from two sides of a sheet of paper. “Unfortunately we are all here because of the pain and harm I caused another person. I’m sorry to her family, a family I knew for 20 years.” Cirino said he had remained friends with the victim until a year ago. “I never knew until recently how much she had been suffering,” he said. “And that pains me. As a young man, I was highly emotional to a lot of things that had
JAMIE WARD/KMG
Lou Cirino, former West Geauga teacher and coach, enters Geauga County Common Pleas Court before he received a six-month jail sentence for gross sexual imposition, a crime he committed 15 years ago against a student.
happened to me.” “I’m sorry,” he continued. “To my family and friends, I want to say thank you, and I love you. I’m sorry for the pain and shame I brought to our family. To my three children at home …” Cirino said, his voice breaking. “I left them today, not knowing what was going to happen. That’s why I said the Our Father 8,000 times. It says: Forgive us our trespasses. I’m asking the victim and her family and the court to forgive me for my trespasses.” There were more people in the courtroom to support Cirino, many of them wearing red as a show of support. When Cirino’s wife, Christi, spoke to Ondrey, there were many people on Cirino’s side in tears. “I’ve been trying to wrap my head around what is currently happening to me,” Christi said. “I’ve been grieving the life I once knew while trying my best to lighten the heaviness that is consuming my heart and my entire being.” Christi said she’s had to get a job since Cirino’s arrest and asked the judge not to sentence Cirino to any jail time. “I knew the life we tried to build for our family would never be the same again,” Christi said, sobbing. The Cirinos have three young children. “I know the man that I married is a good person and that what happened 15 years prior doesn’t define
him completely, and he has worked continuously to build himself in the years following,” she said. When the victim finally rose to speak, there was a defiant tone and a defiant stare as Cirino leaned forward, his head down. “I stand here today vindicated from the layers of manipulation, lies and deceit that this man built up for decades, and is still attempting until today — within our communities, students and families,” she said. “As mentors, teachers, coaches and adults, it is our duty to guide and lead youth in the right direction.” When the prosecution asked for the maximum penalty, Flaiz detailed a grooming process that started when the victim was 12, as Cirino was a friend of the family. The victim was 17 when the incident occurred, Flaiz said. “The defendant didn’t steal a dirt bike,” Flaiz said. “This is a felony sex offense. It’s really one of the worst forms of conduct. He was put in a position of authority over children and he leveraged that position to victimize a child. That’s why we’re here.” “It’s wrong now, it was wrong 15 years ago,” Flaiz said. Upon release, Cirino’s freedom will be contingent on his compliance with community control. A violation would cause him to face a prison sentence up to 18 months.
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