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A Washington Township man serving a 16-year prison sentence for the sexual assault of a young child lost another appeal.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rita Hathaway, in a ruling released Tuesday, said the fourth appeal filed since 2016 by Paul Frank Katonka, who acted as his own lawyer, was not

timely filed and contained no basis to challenge his conviction for attempted rape and other sexual charges to which he pleaded guilty in 2012.

Prosecutors said Katonka, now 41, had sexual contact with an 8-year-old girl that started in 2003 and continued for another five years.

Katonka originally pleaded guilty to 16 counts in 2009 and was sentenced by Common Pleas Court Judge Debra Pezze to serve 10 to 25 years in prison and another 15 years on probation. Prior to

imposing the sentence, Pezze rejected Katonka’s attempt to withdraw his guilty plea.

A state appeals court in 2011 found Pezze should have allowed the guilty plea withdrawal because Katonka had asserted his innocence. The state appeals court ordered the case to return to

Westmoreland County for trial.

In 2012, Katonka again pleaded guilty and, as part of a negotiated deal with prosecutors, was sentenced to serve eight to 16 years in prison and an additional seven years on probation.

According to court records, Katonka did not appeal his current sentence until 2016. That appeal was dismissed. Subsequent appeals filed in 2017 and 2018 were also dismissed.