Bethlehem man, 61, convicted in Grindr sting after officer posed as 15-year-old

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A Bethlehem man was convicted Thursday of attempting to engage in sexual acts with someone he believed to be a 15-year-old boy he met on the dating app Grindr, capping a nearly two-year prosecution that began with an undercover sting in Hanover Township.

Donald Steven Lorish, 61, was found guilty by a Northampton County jury of attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, attempted statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility, according to court records and an announcement from the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office.

Three of the four counts are first-degree felonies.

The two-day trial began April 29 before Judge Michael J. Koury Jr., and the jury returned its verdict the following day, according to the docket in Commonwealth v. Lorish, CP-48-CR-0002148-2024.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 28. Lorish has been held at Northampton County Prison since the verdict, court records show.

District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta said the four convictions carry a combined maximum sentence of up to 67 years in state prison.

The case stemmed from a July 2024 operation by the Colonial Regional Police Department and the Homeland Security Investigations Human Trafficking Task Force, Baratta said in a news release.

An undercover task force officer posed as a 15-year-old boy on Grindr, and Lorish initiated contact, according to the release. The two exchanged explicit messages about sexual acts, including oral sex, and Lorish was told the purported minor’s age, the district attorney said.

On July 22, 2024, Lorish drove to a meeting location on Overlook Drive in Hanover Township, where detectives took him into custody, Baratta said. A search of his phone confirmed the presence of the Grindr app and the explicit conversations, according to the release.

Lorish was originally charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and statutory sexual assault, both first-degree felonies. Prosecutors amended those counts to attempt charges before trial because no sexual contact actually occurred — the person on the other end was an undercover officer.

The unlawful contact and communication-facility counts were unchanged.

The case took nearly two years to reach trial. Lorish’s original counsel, attorney Philip D. Lauer, withdrew in April 2025, and Lorish proceeded for several months without an attorney before Koury appointed Brian Monahan as standby counsel in November 2025, according to the docket.

Lorish waived his speedy-trial rights under Pa.R.Crim.P. 600 multiple times during the case, according to the docket, and the trial date was continued on several occasions.

Koury also ordered an assessment by the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board ahead of sentencing, according to the docket. The board evaluates whether a defendant meets the criteria to be classified as a sexually violent predator under Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Catherine Kollet and Sameer Hossain, Baratta said.

Editor’s note: A booking photo of Lorish was not available at the time of publication.