Teen therapist accused of child sex and rape has been extradited to Butler County after being arrested in Georgia

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WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) – A West Chester therapist recently charged in a 21-count indictment for years of raping boys is back in Greater Cincinnati after being arrested in Georgia last month and will be face a judge this week.

Michael Lesko, 33, was booked into the Butler County Jail on Sunday.

He is scheduled to appear before Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Oster Jr. at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The charges against Lesko include seven counts of rape, six counts of gross sexual assault and eight counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

The crimes he is accused of date back to April 2008, according to court records.

Lesko befriended and sexually groomed the victims while also working as a personal mentor and running a privately run counseling service out of his home on Cox Road, according to a community spokeswoman.

Due to the grooming activities, the age of the victims and the trusted positions Lesko held, it is possible that there are additional victims who have not been identified, she told FOX19 NOW last month.

His indictment shows that sexual abuse was also reported in Montgomery and Warren counties.

Lesko was formerly a social services manager at UC Health but is no longer employed there, a UC spokesman said.

According to his LinkedIn account, he worked as a social services manager from November 2020 to April 2024.

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