PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office today announced the arrest of a former Philadelphia police officer, Patrick Heron, on multiple charges involving inappropriate contact and photography of young girls. He is also facing charges for acts of retaliation and harassment against victims and witnesses.
The arrest comes after a month-long investigation by the District Attorney’s office. On Wednesday Heron was arrested and charged and is being held on a two-million-dollar bail.
According to district attorney Larry Krasner, Heron has been retired from the Philadelphia Police Department as an officer since 2019.
“There are few crimes more corrosive to public safety and community trust in institutions than witness intimidation, harassment, and retaliation. The allegations against former Officer Patrick Heron are among the most alarming, sensitive, and serious that detectives and prosecutors in my administration have investigated,” DA Krasner said. “Due to several specific aspects of this complex investigation, we are limited in the details we can release at this time. I urge anyone with additional information about this defendant’s alleged misconduct — especially young girls or women who may have been fearful in the past to come forward — to contact our Special Investigations Unit directly. Our prosecutors, Victim/Witness Services Unit coordinators, and detectives will do everything within our authority to make sure you are safe and protected in coming forward with information and, if necessary, testifying in a court of law.”
The District Attorney’s office believes there may be more unknown victims of crimes committed by Heron and ask that anyone with any information contact the District Attorney’s office.
“Following execution of several search warrants, DA Detectives recovered from accounts and devices associated with the defendant electronic messages of a sexual nature with girls, electronic messages of a menacing and threatening nature with witnesses, and attempts to fabricate criminal allegations against witnesses and to hack into their social media accounts. Nude and non-consensual photographs of teenage or younger girls were also recovered by detectives,” Krasner wrote in a statement today.