A Chesco business owner is facing more charges for alleged sexual abuse of children
John Lymberis, who owned of Harry’s Hotdogs and Athena’s Kafenio in Sadsburyville, is facing additional charges after an earlier arrest this year.
A Chester County business owner, who was arrested earlier this year for alleged sexual abuse of children, is facing additional charges this week.
John H. Lymberis, 58, has been charged with more than 20 counts relating to the production and possession of child pornography and unlawful contact with a minor out of state, according to charging documents. Lymberis, of Parkesburg, who owned Harry’s Hotdogs and Athena’s Kafenio in Sadsburyville.
Evan Kelly, the attorney representing Lymberis, said they were aware the charges were coming, and Lymberis planned to “vigorously challenge [the charges] in court.”
Lymberis allegedly sent a Michigan 15-year-old sexual messages and images and later bragged about and distributed her photos in online chat rooms, according to charging documents. The victim, now an adult, surrendered her phone in June for the investigation, leading to the additional charges.
The new charges stem from the earlier investigation, which were prompted by a 2024 report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating that someone used the Kik messaging app to upload and share photos and videos of alleged child sexual abuse material from September to October that year.
Lymberis — who was first arrested and charged with sexual abuse of children, digital forgery, and related charges for alleged possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material in May — was identified through email addresses attached to the Kik account and information provided through the Delaware County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
During a search of Lymberis’s house, he “admitted his use of the Kik social media” app, according to the charging documents; the account contained videos where he identified himself by name.
Lymeris “bragged in chats … with other chat members about a 15-year-old female that is now an adult and still communicates with him. He shared images with those chat members,” the documents state.
Detectives identified the girl, whose images and sexual texts were on Lymberis’s Kik account.
Investigators found that she began talking to Lymberis in 2019 in a Kik chat room, where they continued exchanging sexual videos and messages for years. Lymberis “even sent her an e-card on her 16th birthday,” according to charging documents. She turned 18 in September 2021.
The victim estimates that she sent 90-100 images when she was underage; she positively identified him in a photograph. She said he was “very charming and caused her emotional issues,” according to the documents.
Lymberis was arraigned this week and posted bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 2.
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