Richard Paolino II, 45, formerly of Lansdale.
A former Lansdale man who stood accused of assaulting his son and breaking his iPad as police waited outside of the home has been sentenced to probation.
Richard Paolino, 45, pleaded guilty on Friday to misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault, according to court records. Common Pleas Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy sentenced Paolino to five years’ probation on the child endangerment charge and two years’ probation on the simple assault charge, however the sentences will run concurrently so the final duration of his probation will be five years.
Paolino was represented by Fortunato N. Perri Jr., according to court documents.
In addition to probation, Paolino is prohibited from having contact with his son, and must surrender all firearms that he may own under Pennsylvania Act 79. Other charges, including felony strangulation, reckless endangerment and corruption of minors, were withdrawn, according to court records.
Paolino, who resided on West Second Street in Lansdale Borough at the time of the incident, has since moved to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to court records.
According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to a home on West Second Street at 1:44 a.m. on Sept. 8, 2019 for a well-being check of a young male under 13 years of age. The dispatch came via a 9-1-1 call placed by the child’s mother in Maryland, who said that her son was staying at his father’s house in Lansdale for the weekend.
The report states that the mother had been texting with her son throughout the night via the boy’s iPad, and the boy told his mother that his father — identified as Paolino — was drinking and "acting crazy.” The mother became concerned after not hearing from her son for roughly one hour, so she dialed 9-1-1 and requested a wellness check.
Upon arrival to the home, police noted that there was indiscernible yelling and screaming coming from the residence, the report states. After knocking multiple times with no answer, the boy’s stepmother and uncle answered the door in what police described as a state of intoxication. The stepmother and uncle reportedly told police that everything was fine, and said the boy’s mother sometimes overreacts, according to the complaint.
Police continued to request to go upstairs to confirm that the boy was okay, but the uncle refused, the report states. Eventually, the boy came downstairs and stated he was fine and wanted to go to bed, and police did not observe any injuries or marks at that time, the report states.
As police were outside the home calling the mother to provide an update, they heard loud thumps, "extreme screaming” and the boy crying from inside the home, the report states. One officer also saw the blinds of a third-story window moving as if someone was being pushed against them, according to the report. Police then knocked on the door and encountered the stepmother, who seemed agitated that police were knocking again, the report states.
Police asked to speak directly to Paolino, but the stepmother refused, according to the report. Police continued to hear thumping and yelling coming from the upstairs area of the residence, so they entered the home to make sure no one was being harmed, the report states. Police again asked to speak to Paolino, at which point the stepmother stated that he had locked himself in his bedroom and refused to speak with police, according to the report.
While in the home, police observed 20 empty bottles of alcohol along with empty wine glasses, the report states. Police then had the stepmother retrieve the boy from upstairs, and spoke with him away from the stepmother in order to remove him from the situation. The report states the boy was nervous and scared, and was clutching a stuffed animal with both arms as he told police that his father had struck him in the back of the head and choked him with two hands. Paolino also broke the boy’s iPad, according to the report.
Police said a visual inspection of the boy showed redness and discoloration consistent with his account of the assault. Further attempts to investigate at the scene were unsuccessful, as police said the stepmother and uncle were not cooperative, and Paolino refused to come down from his locked bedroom.
Police gathered the boy’s things and took him into custody for his own safety. His mother arrived to the police station several hours later to pick him up, the report states. Back at the residence, police said they continued to hear Paolino yelling at his wife for another 30 minutes, following the boy being taken from the home.
The boy was forensically interviewed at Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center on Sept. 19, 2019, at which point police learned that Paolino had called him names, hit the boy in the chest with a football hard enough to cause a bruise, and had hit him hard with a pillow multiple times, according to the complaint. The mother also produced an image of a hand mark around the boy's neck, which was consistent with the redness police observed at the scene, police said.
Paolino was arraigned on Sept. 26, 2019 by Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine, who set bail at $50,000 cash. Paolino’s wife produced the $50,000 cash for bail that same day, and he was then released from custody.
Following the incident, it was learned that responding officers from the Lansdale Borough Police Department had pooled their money together to purchase an iPad for the victim to replace the one his father had destroyed.
Lansdale Police Chief Michael Trail declined to provide the names of the officers involved, stating that they did not do so for any type of recognition. It was only after he read the comments on the article that he decided to come forward with the act of kindness.
"I know the officers would have my head if I shared their names, because that’s not what they’re about. But once I saw the article posted, I thought it was time to put it out there,” said Trail, in a follow up article from October 2019. "When I read the comments, I could tell people were very passionate about the story. I wanted to share the fact that our guys are passionate about it as well.”
See also:
Horsham Man Pleads Guilty To Distributing Child Pornography, Receives Jail Sentence
Former Local Firefighter Sentenced To House Arrest, Probation After Pleading Guilty To Arson
North Wales Man Who Exposed Himself To Group Of 11-Year-Old Children Sentenced To Probation
Man Sentenced To Probation Following Sexually Lewd Incident At Lansdale Starbucks
Woman Accused Of DUI With Child In Car Pleads Guilty, Sentenced To House Arrest And Probation
