PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Authorities in Delaware County have arrested and charged a man they said used opioid settlement funds to sexually prey on women suffering from addiction.
Larry Arata of Havertown is the executive director of the Opioid Crisis Action Network and was awarded more than $1 million in contracts from Delaware County to work with people in recovery. That work included distributing meal credits and bus passes, and offering rental assistance.
However, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said that wasn’t all Arata was doing. “He was using those funds to basically leverage women in recovery to satisfy his sexual pleasures,” he said.
“These are benefits they are supposed to get by engaging in his program to get them in recovery, and he’s using them to essentially trade sex for those gift cards and for that monetary value.”
According to Stollsteimer, Arata was believed to have targeted his victims while they sought help at different facilities across the county. “Several women have come forward,” he said. “There are also witnesses who have come forward to corroborate.”
Arata now faces more than 33 charges, from human trafficking and patronizing a prostitute to intimidation of witnesses. He is currently free on bail. Stollsteimer said four victims have come forward so far, but the investigation is ongoing and there may be more victims yet to emerge.