Wormleysburg, PA

Tactics Used

Auto Seizure
Buyer Arrests
Cameras
Community Service
Employment Loss
Identity Disclosure
IT Based Tactics
John School
Letters
License Suspension
Neighborhood Action
Public Education
Reverse Stings
SOAP Orders
Web Stings

Wormleysburg is a borough of approximately 3,000 residents in western Pennsylvania. It is an incorporated area in Cumberland County, PA. It lies across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s capital. It is part of the HarrisburgCarlisle metropolitan statistical area. Lemoyne belongs to the western group of Harrisburg suburbs located in Cumberland County. The three boroughs that make up the West Shore Region in Cumberland County are Lemoyne, Wormleysburg, and Camp Hill. The West Shore Regional Police Department and the West Shore Bureau of Fire serve the Lemoyne and Wormleysburg boroughs. Instances of prostitution and sex trafficking have been documented in the borough and greater county area. This activity and its ancillary crimes has resulted in complaints to local law enforcement from residents and businesses. Reports of violence against individuals engaging in commercial sex, targeted homicide of prostituted persons, and sexual assault/rape of prostituted persons have been documented to occur as a result of prostitution-related activity at these trucks stops. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is child sex trafficking. For example, in July 2016, the West Shore Regional Police Department conducted a joint operation with Swatara Township Police (Dauphin County), Fairview Township Police (York County), and Harrisburg City Police (Dauphin County) in regards to possible prostitution occurring at the Econo-Lodge in Wormleysburg Borough. Through an investigation, officer(s) discovered multiple people involved in the operation that included a 14-year-old and 16-year-old female(s) sex trafficking victims. The investigation led to the arrest of an Allentown couple; a 24-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman. Both were charged with promoting and transporting for the use of prostitution involving minors and corruption of minors.

Loss of employment and identity disclosure are also consequences of buying sex in the borough. In 2009, a Wormleysburg Borough councilman, Commissioner of the West Shore Bureau of Fire, Lemoyne code enforcement officer, and Lemoyne Middle School crossing  guard was arrested for allegedly sexually exploiting four teenage boys in exchange for money. Upon further investigation it was discovered that the offender met the teenage boys at Lemoyne Middle School through his duties as a crossing guard, all four wanted to be junior fire fighters. The investigation was initiated after the West Shore Regional Police Department received a report from one of the victim’s mother that the offender had sexually assaulted her son at the local fire station. The offender was found to have paid at least one of the victims $20 after each encounter during the summer of 2007. The victim stated that he was sexually abused five to ten times in exchange throughout that summer. The offender was arrested in 2009 on three counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, corruption of a minor, indecent assault, statutory sexual assault and unlawful contact with a minor. He was also charged with a single count of patronizing a prostitute. He was transported to the Cumberland County Prison in lieu of a $250,000 bond with a list of the following conditions if he had made bail:

  • Absolutely no contact with any of the boys.
  • No contact or visitation with any child or minor under 18 years old unless supervised by a third person 21 years or older or approved by Cumberland County Children and Youth Services.
  • May not while engaged in any activity related to the West Shore Bureau of Fire oversee direct or have any contact with any juvenile under the age of 18 nor participate in any recruiting and/or selection of any members who might make applications to the West Shore Bureau of Fire
  • Shall not engage in any crossing guard duties which might place him in contact with young children
  • Shall not return to his home address until the residence is not occupied by any child or minor under 18 years old
  • Prior to being released on bail, the defendant shall provide sufficient proof of an alternate place of residence other than that of his home address.

In 2010, he was sentenced to sentenced to 15-30 years in state prison. In addition to sentencing, the offender was indefinitely suspended from his position on the Wormleysburg’s Borough Council, Commissioner of the West Shore Bureau of Fire, the Lemoyne code enforcement officer, and a Lemoyne Middle School crossing guard. He had served on Wormleysburg’s Borough Council since being appointed to fill a vacant seat in 1991. He served as Wormleysburg’s fire chief for more than 25 years before becoming the commissioner of the West Shore Bureau of Fire when Wormleysburg and Lemoyne’s fire companies merged in 1999. His identity and image were included in reports by local media outlets.

In March, 2023, it was announced that eight men were arrested in the third prostitution sting the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office had conducted in the prior nine months as part of its Human Trafficking Enforcement operation that targets demand for prostitution. The DA’s Office said the men were arrested after they arrived at a hotel in Wormleysburg and offered an under-cover police officer money for sex acts.  The identities of the men were publicly disclosed.

Key Sources

Employment Loss, Sex Buyer Arrest, Identity Disclosure:

Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:

Background on Local Prostitution and Sex Trafficking:

Documented Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation:

Documented Violence Against Individuals Engaged in Commercial Sex:

Research Reports:

State Pennsylvania
Type City
Population 3070
Location
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