Andrew Kowalski is set for Jury Selection on May 13
RIDGWAY--A Johnsonburg man accused of physically and sexually abusing an infant girl this past year will soon head to trial following a pre-trial conference held during Elk County's Return Day on Monday.
Defendant Andrew Edward Kowalski, 32, of Johnsonburg, appeared in court Monday afternoon for the conference.
In October of 2022, police charged Kowalski for the alleged abuse of a 10-month-old child and for causing what doctors described as "near fatal" injuries, including a "life-threatening" brain bleed. Investigators also noted in the complaint that Kowalski appeared to be "more concerned with himself than the wellbeing of the child."
Kowalski is charged with multiple counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated assault, and child endangerment.
Online court records show that Kowalski was out on parole, at the time of the alleged abuse, for a previous sexual assault conviction from 2013.
During the pre-trial conference, the defense attested that they had received thousands of pages of medical evidence and that their hired expert was still going through the records. Judge Shawn T. McMahon scheduled the final call of the list (the last day a defendant can accept a plea deal for anything other than the highest graded charge in the indictment) for March 6, with Jury selection to follow a week later on July 13.
Kowalski was quiet during the proceedings, only chatting in whispers to his defense attorney Public Defender Gary Knaresboro. A large group of family members and friends of the victim attended the court proceedings.
The Ridgway Record will cover this case fully when it returns to Elk County Court in March.