Child porn case against ex-Aliquippa hoops coach not over yet
One day after withdrawing child pornography charges against the former Aliquippa High School basketball coach following a lengthy investigation, Beaver County’s district attorney said the case is not over.
District Attorney David J. Lozier said Wednesday that an investigation into Nicholas Lackovich, 55, is ongoing and that his office intends to refile the charges that were dropped Tuesday at a preliminary hearing.
Mr. Lackovich, 55, who also was a Beaver County probation officer, was charged in November with five counts of possessing child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility.
The images were discovered after Pennsylvania State Police seized his computers and cell phone as part of a yearlong investigation into his alleged involvement in a dogfighting ring, investigators said. The devices were searched with the help of the FBI, which discovered an image of child pornography.
Further searching turned up four more images of nude children and children performing sexual acts, according to the criminal complaint.
Mr. Lackovich was never charged with the dogfighting. He claimed he was unaware of the images on his computer and did not download them.
Mr. Lozier would not comment further on the case and declined to provide a timeline for when the charges will be refiled.
Mr. Lackovich’s attorney, William Difenderfer, said the case was thoroughly investigated over the past two years and there wasn’t sufficient evidence to press forward with prosecution.
“I’m very surprised, and I don’t see how the case gets any better with more time or more investigation,” Mr. Difenderfer said.
“It’s extremely disappointing to me that they would consider refiling a case like that that on their own motion they withdrew,” said Stephen Colafella, Mr. Lackovich’s other attorney. “It has no merit.”
Mr. Lackovich was suspended from his job with the Beaver County adult probation office when the investigation into dogfighting activities began in 2015. He has since retired, he said, and is not currently coaching.
“Put yourself in my shoes and imagine having this dark cloud that you just never know if it’s going to unload on you for two years,” Mr. Lackovich said Wednesday afternoon. “I just want my life back. It’s literally been taken away from me.”
He led the Aliquippa boys basketball team to the PIAA Class AA state championship in 2015-16. He was named Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Coach of the Year for the 2014-15 season. His team had a perfect season until losing in the state championship game.
“I just want to distance myself from this mess as far as possible,” Mr. Lackovich said.