PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A retired Philadelphia police officer has been charged with sexually assaulting young girls and threatening witnesses.
District Attorney Larry Krasner said the allegations against 52-year-old Patrick Heron are disturbing, and it’s one of the worst cases he’s ever seen.
After several search warrants over a months-long investigation, authorities found online messages between Heron and young girls that were of a “sexual nature,” as well as nude photos of teenage girls.
“Unlawful sexual contact with minors, some of them quite young,” Krasner explained. “Electronic messages that appear to be efforts at grooming young girls or coercion of young girls to meet with this defendant in person, to send him intimate photographs.”
Officials said Heron, who retired from the force in 2019, told his alleged victims that he was still a cop.
Investigators said he also threatened to hack into witnesses’ social media accounts if they came forward.
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“The charges related to witness intimidation and harassment are among the most egregious that we have seen,” said Krasner. “This defendant is alleged to have used electronic communications and forgery to threaten and intimidate children and adults who attempted to report his misconduct to authorities.”
Krasner said a Philadelphia public school is tied to the case, but he didn’t name it due to the ongoing investigation.
Heron was arrested on Wednesday and is being held on $2 million bail.
He faces several charges, including unlawful contact with minors, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, forgery, and retaliation against a witness or victim, as well as having computer visuals of sex with a child.
Fearing there may be more unreported victims, prosecutors ask anyone with information about Heron to contact the District Attorney’s Office Special Investigations Unit at DAO_SIU@phila.gov or 215-686-9608.
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