PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia prosecutors believe there are additional, unidentified victims who were lured and attacked by former Police Officer Patrick Heron who pleaded guilty last week to sexual assault and child pornography charges.
Heron faced more than 200 charges, but pleaded guilty Friday as part of a deal, as prosecutors said they wanted to avoid re-traumatizing the victims. He was sentenced to 15 to 40 years behind bars.
Assistant District Attorney Lyandra Retacco says Heron, who left the department in 2019, lured, abused, assaulted, and threatened women and girls.
“On at least one occasion we can confirm that he, in fact, threatened arrest of that woman in exchange for sexual acts,” Retacco said. “In other words, if you perform these sexual acts, I won’t arrest you.”
Authorities say he had been assaulting dozens of women and girls since at least 2005, some of whom remain unidentified because they were vulnerable, runaways, sometimes trafficked, or facing addiction.
Retacco says Heron encouraged one woman who was struggling with addiction to inject herself with drugs in the back of his patrol car, then sexually assaulted her and videoed it.
Retacco says Heron often took to social media, where he would solicit young women for pictures of themselves in various states of undress, retain those pictures on his personal device and, when at least one of those children came forward or attempted to come forward, he would threaten them with arrest.
Heron pleaded guilty to unlawful contact of children, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, indecent assault, stalking, forgery and kidnapping charges.
Heron’s lawyer, Anthony List, says he hopes everyone involved can get closure, including Heron’s family who has been bullied on social media.