Youngstown corrections officer Richard Kozak accused of seeking sex with minors

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Bond has been set at $10,000 for a corrections officer at the private prison on Youngstown’s East Side who is accused of seeking sex online with minors.

Richard Kozak, 31, of Youngstown, was arraigned in Mahoning County Area Court in Austintown before Judge Joseph Schiavoni on charges of compelling prostitution, a third-degree felony, and two fifth-degree felony counts of importuning and possession of criminal tools.

He is expected to have a pretrial hearing sometime within the next two weeks.

Kozak was arrested Tuesday by members of the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force.

A news release from the state Attorney General’s Office said Kozak was having sexually explicit conversations online with a juvenile and also talked about his plans to sexually assault a 15-year-old girl.

Kozak was a corrections officer at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center and was having the conversations during work hours, according to the release.

The release said the operators of the prison, CoreCivic, cooperated fully with investigators.

Also arrested by the task force Jan. 6 was a 75-year-old Richmond man, John Slates, who is accused of soliciting sex from a 15-year-old and the teen’s mother. He is charged with compelling prostitution, a first-degree felony; importuning, a fifth-degree felony; attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fourth-degree felony; importuning, a fifth-degree felony; possessing criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony; and engaging in prostitution, a first-degree felony.

Arraignment information is not available.

Additionally, with the help of Salem and East Palestine police departments, several other have also been charged with trafficking-related sex crimes. They are:

Russell Miller, 41, of Struthers, was arrested Jan. 1 and charged with engaging in prostitution, possession of criminal tools and voyeurism.
Austin Bennett, 25, of Elyria, was charged Jan. 3 with soliciting and possession of criminal tools.
Matthew Cessna, 43, of Youngstown, was charged Jan. 4 with engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.
Jerome Hassan, 59, of New Castle, Pa., was charged Jan. 4 with engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.
Andrew Lightner, 43, of Alliance, was charged Jan. 5 with solicitation and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Michael Lawson, 38, of Butler, Pa., was charged Jan. 6 with engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.
Gary Casey, 47, of Girard, was charged Jan. 6 with engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.
Mai Alei, 42, of Youngstown, was charged Jan. 7 with solicitation and possession of criminal tools.
Seth Ensign, 23, of Youngstown, was charged Jan. 8 with engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.
Cody Heasley, 26, Beaver Falls, Pa., was charged Jan. 11 with engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.
Carmine Carrabbia, 44, of Austintown, was arrested Jan. 12 and charged with engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.
Wissam Zarour, 50, of Youngstown, was charged Jan. 13 with engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.
Justin Palmer, 43, of Slippery Rock, Pa., was charged Jan. 13 with engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.
Ollie Patrick, 52, of Mineral City, was charged Jan. 13 with engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools.
Jamal Jamison, 31, of Wintersville, was issued a summons Jan. 19 for soliciting prostitution and possession of criminal tools.