By Richard L. Gaw

Staff Writer

Please be advised that the following story contains sensitive wording regarding sexual abuse.

The Chester County District Attorney’s Office announced on April 21 that they had arrested former New Garden Township Supervisor and Avondale resident Warren Reynolds for the sexual abuse of a female child over a five-year period that began in 1999, when the child was between eight and 13 years old.

Reynolds, 60, is being charged with multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and other charges. He is being held at Chester County Prison on $2 million bail set by Magisterial District Judge Matthew Seavey.

The allegations state that in September 2020, Chester County Detectives interviewed a victim who detailed being sexually abused by Reynolds when he was between 38 and 43 years old. The abuse occurred several times a week between 1999 and 2003 when she was in Reynolds’ care at his home at 973 Penn Green Road in Avondale, as well as at 151 Gun Club Road in New Castle County and at a beach residence in Lewes, De.  

As detailed in the police criminal complaint filed on April 18, exposed a female child to repeated acts of penetration, repeated acts of fondling of various parts of the child’s body and repeated acts of kissing of the victim’s neck – which would sometimes leave hickeys on her arms and neck. At the time of these acts, Reynolds was in a caretaking role and had “a duty of care, protection and support of the victim,” the report said.

The report also said that the victim described the abuse occurring on an almost daily basis – at least three to five times a week.

“Warren Reynolds engaged in a depraved and systemic course of conduct violating a young child he was responsible for protecting and keeping safe,” said Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan. “We will do everything possible to get justice for this brave victim. 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.”

Reynolds’ April 21 arrest is not his first brush with the law stemming from sexual crimes. On June 12, 2013, following an investigation by Pennsylvania State Police, Reynolds was arrested for the possession of more than 500 images of child pornography. The collection included both video and still images depicting children as young as three engaged in sexual acts with adults and other children.

Reynolds, then 51, was charged with sexual abuse of children, possession of child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communication facility. He appeared before Seavey and was freed after posting 10 percent of a $1 million bail set by Seavey.

The investigation began in the wake of an April 22 computer technician's visit to the Reynolds home at 973 Penn Green Road in Avondale to service a computer in Reynolds' office. During the repair, the technician found hundreds of child pornography images on the computer, and discovered that some of these images had been accessed the previous day.

On March 4, 2014, Reynolds pled guilty to five counts of possession of child pornography, and on Sept. 9, 2014, Reynolds appeared at the Court of Common Pleas in West Chester, where he agreed to a state prison term that extended to a maximum of four years.

Reynolds’ preliminary hearing is set for April 29, 2022, and the prosecuting attorney will be Assistant District Attorney Christine Abatemarco.

If you suspect child sexual abuse, call CHILDLINE at 1-800-932-0313. Learn to recognize, react, and report child sexual abuse by taking a free virtual Stewards of Children workshop. Contact County Coordinator Katie Walters at [email protected] or 610-344-6115 for more information.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].