A Chester County restaurant owner and business leader was arrested for the second time this year in connection with a child pornography case, according to a criminal complaint.
John Lymberis, the former owner of Harry’s Hotdogs, is facing more than a dozen new charges after police uncovered new information involving a teen who reported being abused by him. The new charges come five months after he was arrested and accused of possessing child pornography.
Arnie Cohen, who said he has been Lymberis’ neighbor for years, was shocked to learn of his arrest in May on accusations of downloading and sharing child sexual abuse material.
“It’s an unbelievable disgrace,” Cohen said.
Cohen’s shock only grew after learning more about his neighbor.
“His daughter’s friends? Is that insane or what?” he said.
In February, police searched Lymberis’ home and seized several electronic devices. Investigators later discovered that he had uploaded and shared photos and videos containing child sexual abuse material on the Kik app.
According to court documents filed in Chester County earlier this week, investigators examining Lymberis’ devices discovered that he had used apps to manipulate images of children he knew into child sexual abuse material.
Police said they also uncovered conversations and evidence showing that Lymberis had requested pictures from a teenage girl.
That girl, who is now an adult, turned over evidence to the FBI near her Michigan home.
In 2024, detectives received a cyber tip about the uploads. During their investigation, they traced the account to Lymberis through associated email addresses and discovered that the account had participated in chat rooms.
At one point, Lymberis described to members of a chat room how he “groomed a 15-year-old,” investigators said.
The woman told police she was still sending images and videos to Lymberis. Police said Lymberis hosted chat rooms and solicited users to submit images of themselves performing lewd acts involving images of children.
The victim also told police that Lymberis had offered to take her on a shopping spree.
Lymberis is also accused of using a legal AI app to alter images of children he knew.
Leslie Slingsby, the CEO of Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center, said her team is lobbying to make those apps illegal.
“Children no longer need to be physically touched to be a victim of child sexual abuse material,” Slingsby said.
Since his arrest, Lymberis has stepped down from his role at Harry’s Hotdogs, with family members continuing to run the eatery.
According to the criminal complaint, Lymberis faces multiple charges, including unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, criminal use of communication facility and other offenses.
Lymberis is currently out on bail, and his attorney declined to comment.
If you have any information about this case, please call the Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6866.
