The former owner of a thriving Tampa Bay drag and LGBTQ bar and his partner are facing “extremely serious” allegations of child sexual exploitation and child pornography charges, according to federal court documents seen by The Independent.
Richard Kowalczyk, 44, who until recently owned the well-known LGBTQ hangout Southern Nights, and his romantic partner Eric Patrick, 31, a teacher, were arrested earlier this month after being accused of accessing pornography involving boys from as young as six years old to prepubescent teenagers.
The pair are both facing charges of conspiracy to entice a minor, attempted coercion, and the enticement of a minor.
Kowalczyk is charged with an additional two counts for “receipt” and “possession” of child pornography while Patrick is charged with distribution of child pornography, as per the federal criminal complaint. Patrick’s lawyer told Fox Tampa Bay that his client is maintaining his innocence and is looking forward to defending himself in court.
Federal law enforcement officials in Florida say their investigation began in January 2023 after they discovered a spate of messages on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram between Kowalczyk and a suspect who was under a separate investigation between April to August 2022.
In the disturbing exchange, investigators say they found texts that went into extremely graphic detail about sexual encounters and fantasies with minors as well as multiple explicit child sexual abuse images and videos – Kowalczyk had been communicating under the username of “RickSN”, according to the criminal filing in Florida federal court.
CashApp transactions between the pair allowed investigators to confirm Kowalczyk’s identity, the federal documents allege.
In February 2023, officers seized the club owner’s iPhone 13 at Orlando International Airport where the suspect was planning to board a flight. In addition, a search warrant of the Florida residence he shared with Patrick, allowed officers to retrieve Kowalczyk’s second iPhone, an XS, as well as Patrick’s MacBook. The electronic data retrieved led investigators to believe that the pair were involved in the exploitation of children.
Kowalczyk later admitted in an interview to receiving child pornography, according to the criminal filing.
In total, officers say that they found 83 images and two videos featuring child exploitation on Kowalczyk’s iPhone 13 – which included images of minors under 12, stated the criminal filing.
The couple would engage frequently in text conversations that discussed their desires to engage in sexual acts with minors and even spoke about how they could use the popular dating app Grindr to search for victims.
But in June 2020, Kowalczyk and Patrick allegedly carried out their most heinous pre-meditated operation, the criminal filing details.
Together, the pair traveled to Key West, Florida, where they had planned to “seek out minors and engage in sex acts” on the trip, as per the criminal filing in Florida federal court.
A sinister online conversation, in July 2023, revealed that the pair had allegedly found a 15 to 16-year-old boy on Grindr that they went on to victimize and abuse while in Key West.
Another section of the document notes Patrick’s position as a teacher where he had unfettered “access to minors”, as per the criminal filing.
Investigators believe that the pair could’ve engaged in multiple incidents involving criminal sexual behavior with minors in both Florida and Michigan states.
“Kowalczyk and Patrick not only shared images and videos depicting child exploitation, but discussed, executed, and succeeded in exploiting at least one known minor victim, and discussed the hands-on exploitation of numerous other minors”, a statement from the criminal filing read.
If convicted for the attempted coercion of a minor, the pair could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years with the possibility to extend to a life sentence.
Southern Nights’ club published a statement on Facebook in light of the allegations Tuesday: “Southern Nights & District Dive has always strived to be a safe space for everyone.
“Being an LGBTQ+ nightclub, we are constantly standing in the face of adversity. We have fought hard for our reputation and for our community.
“The allegations that have recently come to light are not ones we take lightly, and absolutely do not condone. Our businesses have no involvement in these allegations. While he maintains his innocence, Richard Kowalezyk has transferred his ownership and will step aside from all responsibilities.
“We are committed to continuing to maintain our locations as the place they have always been: a place of community and a safe place where people can go and enjoy themselves.”
The Independent contacted Grindr for comment.
