John Henry Radwancky, 52, of Ashtabula, is charged with extortion, a third-degree felony; unauthorized use of a computer, cable or telecommunications, a fourth-degree felony, and attempted grand theft, a fifth-degree felony, according to the indictment filed April 7 in Common Pleas Court.
Radwancky could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Buckeye Superintendent Patrick Colucci said the district only recently became aware of the charges pending against Radwancky.
"We have extremely limited information at this time, but it is our understanding that the matter does not involve Buckeye schools," he said. "Mr. Radwancky has been placed on administrative leave to allow the district time to obtain additional information regarding the matter."
Radwancky came to Buckeye from Ashtabula Area City Schools in August 2020, and was given additional duties in operations in August 2021.
Ashtabula Area City Schools Superintendent Mark Potts said he can not comment on the indictment right now because it's an ongoing investigation.
According to the indictment, the alleged crimes took place on or about Oct. 6, 2019 through May 7, 2020, while Radwancky was employed as network administrator at AACS.
According to count one of the indictment, Radwancky tried to obtain something, especially money, through threats (extortion).
Count two of the indictment charges Radwancky hacked AACS's computers for the purpose of devising or executing a scheme to defraud or obtain property or money by false pretenses (unauthorized use of a computer).
Count three charges Radwancky purposely deprived AACS of property or services (attempted grand theft), according to the indictment.
As of Wednesday, Common Pleas Court had not set a date for his arraignment.
©2022 the Star Beacon (Ashtabula, Ohio). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
