WEST CHESTER — A former southern Chester County elected official who had served time in state prison for possession of child pornography was arrested earlier this month and charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse of a child over a period of four years.
On Thursday, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of Warren Reynolds, who served as a township supervisor in his hometown of New Garden until his arrest in 2014 on child porn charges.
The allegations are that Reynolds, 60, of Avondale, had sexually abused a child between 8 and 13 years of age from 1999 to 2003. He is charged with several counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and other charges.
Already on probation for the child porn charges, Reynolds was arrested on Monday and is currently being held at Chester County Prison on $2 million bail that was set by Magisterial District Judge Matthew Seavy at his preliminary arraignment.
In a social media post announcing the arrest, District Attorney Deb Ryan was quoted as saying that Reynolds, “engaged in a depraved and systemic course of conduct violating a young child he was responsible for protecting and keeping safe.
“We will do everything possible to get justice for this brave victim,” said Ryan who coincidentally, as a supervisor of the D.A.’s Child Abuse Unit, prosecuted Reynolds in 2014 for the child pornography case. “It took years for her to find the courage to speak to law enforcement about the horrors she endured. I commend her bravery and hope she sees the defendant’s arrest as the first step towards justice.”
The allegations in the complaint are that in September 2020, Chester County Detectives interviewed a victim who detailed being sexually abused by Reynolds when she was 8 to 13 years old. The abuse occurred several times a week between 1999 and 2003 when she was in his care at his home on Penn Green Road in New Garden.
The abuse also happened in New Castle County, Delaware, and Lewes, Del. The victim told detectives that the defendant digitally penetrated and fondled her.
The disclosure in 2020 came at a time that Reynolds, who was sentenced to two to four years in state prison for the pornography, had been charged with violating his probation and sentenced to an additional 212 days of confinement by Judge David Bortner.
The defendant’s preliminary hearing is set for April 29.
Reynolds was charged with child porn possession following an investigation that began when his wife called a computer technician to service their family computer, officials said. Investigators say that as the technician worked on the unit he discovered numerous images of child pornography. Some of the files were accessed the previous day while Reynolds was home, officials said.
The technician reported his findings to state police, and an investigation began. Police executed a search warrant at Reynolds’ home and made a disturbing discovery. He was initially charged with 500 counts, but the number of charges was cut in the terms of the plea.
Officials said state police investigators recovered multiple computers, external hard drives, floppy disks, compact disks, VHS tapes, reels of film, photo slides, a video camera, printed images of adults sexually assaulting children, and a pair of children’s underwear during their search of Reynolds’ house.
Investigators said the disks and files were labeled with titles that are commonly associated with child pornography, including names like “Age 06,” “The Early Stuff,” “Baby J,” and other explicit titles.
Reynolds is the owner of his family’s farm in New Garden, where he has lived his entire life. He has been involved in environmental protection efforts in the township. He resigned his position as a township supervisor ahead of his arrest.
On the day that Reynolds began serving his prison sentence, he offered an apology for his crimes and said that he was grateful to his wife, family, and other members of the New Garden community for standing by him since his arrest on the charges in June 2013.
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
