Lansdale Man Arrested on Strangulation, Child Endangerment Charges

North Penn Now Staff•

Richard Paolino II, 44, of Lansdale.

UPDATE: May 24, 9:43 p.m. - This case has since been resolved. Click here for the update.

Original story follows...

A Lansdale man is facing multiple felony charges after he allegedly punched and choked his young son while police were responding to a complaint at his home during the early-morning hours of Sept. 8.

According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to a home on West Second Street at 1:44 a.m. on Sept. 8 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 44-year-old Richard Paolino II—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 describe 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 allegedly 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 allegedly 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 step-mother stated that he had locked himself in his bedroom and refused to speak with police, according to the report.

While in the home, police allegedly 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, 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.

As a result of the incident, Paolino has been charged with felony counts of strangulation and endangering the welfare of children, as well as misdemeanor counts of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and corruption of minors.

Paolino was arraigned on Sept. 26 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. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing in front of Judge Levine on Dec. 2 at 2:15 p.m.

(Editor’s note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.)