Chesco business owner arrested for allegedly sharing child sexual abuse material in Kik chat rooms
John H. Lymberis, who owns Harry’s Hotdogs, has been arrested for the sexual abuse of children.
A prominent Chester County business owner has been arrested for the alleged sexual abuse of children stemming from messages he shared in Kik chat rooms, prosecutors said.
John H. Lymberis, 57, was charged with sexual abuse of children, digital forgery, and related charges for allegedly possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office and police said Thursday. Lymberis, of Parkesburg, is the owner of Harry’s Hotdogs and Athena’s Kafenio in Sadsburyville.
In December 2024, Chester County detectives received a 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 of that year. Kik indicated the user was sharing files with another user in a private message chat at that time.
Prosecutors subpoenaed Comcast in February 2025 to request information on an IP address investigators believed to be the user posting the material on Kik.
Investigators soon located the user and identified Lymberis through email addresses attached to the Kik account and information provided through the Delaware County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Later, a search of Lymberis’ Parkesburg residence uncovered multiple devices, some of which contained the material, according to prosecutors. Investigators also found a Dropbox account associated with Lymberis, where he may store additional images and videos, officials said.
Prosecutors said Lymberis used Kik to join chat rooms where he allegedly posted and exchanged images of children, including images where generative artificial intelligence was used to create sexualized images of minors.
Lymberis provided names and ages of some of the children in the images that he shared, prosecutors said. He also identified himself in one of the chats and disclosed that he “groomed a 15-year-old” with whom he was still in contact, according to prosecutors.
Investigators identified 14 children whom Lymberis shared images of in these chat rooms, the district attorney’s office said.
Lymberis was released after posting 10% of $35,000 bail, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 8.
Lymberis’ attorney could not be reached for comment Thursday.
“This office will continue to investigate and prosecute those who possess and distribute” such material, said District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe.
As news of the charges spread, “a lot of misinformation” surfaced online falsely indicating Lymberis had died, said a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, who confirmed the business owner was still alive.
In a letter to parents, the principal of Pope John Paul II Regional Elementary School identified Lymberis as “one of our parents” and called the charges “serious and disturbing.”
“As soon as we learned of the investigation, we notified Mr. Lymberis that he could neither be present on campus nor participate in any school activities during the criminal investigation,” principal Patty Tarquinio wrote. “As a result of these charges, Mr. Lymberis will remain prohibited from school or parish property pending the outcome of the judicial phase that will now unfold.”
Prosecutors are asking the public to contact the Chester County detectives with any information regarding this case by calling 610-344-6866.
