Nov 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 11

AROUND THE COUNTRY
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
Former Philly Officer Patrick Heron,charged with more
than 200 counts of sexual crimes pleads guilty.
By Robert Moran,
The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA, PA. — A former
Philadelphia police officer was
sentenced to 15 to 40 years in
state prison after he pleaded
guilty Friday to sexually assaulting
vulnerable women and girls
— often in the back of his police
vehicle and while in uniform.
Patrick Heron, 54, of Northeast
Philadelphia, agreed to a plea
deal with the District Attorney’s
Office to avoid a fast-approaching
trial on more than 200
counts that included child sex
assault, child pornography, kidnapping,
and related offenses.
Jane Roh, spokesperson for the
District Attorney’s Office, said
the guilty plea was welcomed by
victims who are now spared the
trauma of a trial.
Heron’s defense lawyer, Anthony
List, said he hoped the plea
would allow the victims to avoid
the anguish of having to testify,
and added: “hopefully, everyone
can move on.”
Heron, who retired from the
force in 2019, was initially arrested
last year and accused of
posing as an active officer to
36 The BLUES
lure girls, including some of his
daughter’s friends.
Investigators later uncovered
dozens of photos and videos
showing that Heron’s predatory
behavior spanned years and
included dozens of young women
and girls — often targeting
victims who had run away, been
arrested, or struggled with addiction.
At a hearing last month, prosecutors
shared a video that they
said showed Heron encouraging
a young woman to use heroin in
the back of his cruiser. He then
videotaped himself assaulting
her while she lay unconscious
in the back of his car, said Lyandra
Retacco, chief of the Special
Investigations Unit of the District
Attorney’s Office.
Before forcing one girl to perform
sex acts on him, Heron told
her that “It would help you in
court to have a police officer on
your side,” testified Sgt. Gerald
Rocks, the investigator on the
case.
Heron met many of his victims
while on the force, Retacco said,
and prosecutors say his crimes
occurred over a roughly 17-year
span, from 2005 through 2022.
Investigators have identified
48 victims, though many of their
identities remain unknown, Retacco
said. There are likely more
who haven’t come forward, she
said.
Once detectives searched his
phone and other devices, they
found numerous videos taken
in 2016 and 2017, which showed
Heron assaulting girls, some who
appeared semiconscious, in his
cruiser.
Some victims contacted the
District Attorney’s Office after
seeing his photo in the news.
EDITOR: Let’s hope this piece
of garbage gets the justice he
deserves from his fellow inmates.
Karma!