Amid sex case, Ahr quits post as Radnor commissioner
More disturbing material found on township iPad, officials claim
Philip Ahr resigned as Radnor Township’s 7th Ward commissioner on Monday, clearing the way for the appointment of a replacement by the board of commissioners. The board voted 4-0 at a special meeting to accept his resignation.
But Ahr, a 66-year-old Democrat, might be facing more than the 130 child pornography-related counts than have already been lodged against him. After he turned his township-issued iPad into township Manager Robert Zienkowski, Zienkowski asked a township detective to analyze it before it was turned over to another employee to use. The detective allegedly found “deeply concerning and disturbing” material on the device, police said. The iPad was turned over to Delaware County detectives who are handling the investigation.
“Everything that was found was web-based,” said Detective T.J. Schrieber, the township’s go-to computer cop.
At a press conference when he announced Ahr’s resignation, Zienkowski read the letter that Ahr handed him.
“First and foremost, I apologize for the personal mistakes I have made and the embarrassment I have caused that has damaged the public’s trust. I am mindful of the distraction the criminal allegations against me have created for the administration of government within the township. I apologize specifically to the constituents of the 7th Ward, my neighbors, and the township I have served for almost two years,” Ahr wrote. By resigning Ahr can “focus on my own personal rehabilitation” while allowing the board to work on township issues and Ward 7 residents to “be adequately represented by my replacement,” he stated.
Zienkowski outlined the process where the board will select a new temporary commissioner within 30 days. It the board deadlocks on the appointment, the Vacancy Board then would appoint a replacement within 15 days. If that is not done, the matter would go to Common Pleas Court. Seventh Ward residents will then be able to vote on a new commissioner during the primary election in May 2018.
Asked whether Ahr was accessing the illicit websites during the times he was in the township building, Police Superintendent William Colarulo said that is not yet known.
“This came as quite a shock to us,” said Zienkowski about the alleged files on the iPad. Ahr was supposed to turn over this sort of equipment to the county as part of his release on bail, so it “came as a shock to the county, as well.”
Colarulo said that county detectives were unaware that Ahr had a township-issued iPad or that he used it for things other than township business.
“As the township manager alluded to, there were images that were very disturbing on there that the detective was able to retrieve based on his training,” said Colarulo.
Asked if children in the community were in danger, Colarulo said the manager had set up a hotline for residents to call and there are extra police patrols in the area where Ahr lives, as well as plain-clothed officers.
While Ahr faces 130 counts of possessing and distributing child pornography, no charges of physical molestation have been filed.
Zienkowski said Colarulo met Ahr outside the building and escorted him to the manager’s office, where Ahr apologized.
“It was very hard not to give my true feelings,” Zienkowski said. “At first there was relief on behalf of the residents on the 7th Ward. Today it was quite shocking to take a township-issued iPad and find what we found on there. It was very disturbing what we saw.”
Ahr’s behavior was his own and does not represent Radnor Township, Zienkowski asserted.
“He will pay for what he does but it does not impact what we do as a township,” said Zienkowski.
Acting board President Elaine Schaefer thanked John Rice, township solicitor, for pressuring Ahr to resign. Commissioners Luke Clark and Richard Booker had contacted an outside attorney who on Friday issued a letter to Ahr demanding that he step down.
“Luke Clark and I are very glad to hear that Phil Ahr has resigned from the board of commissioners,” said Booker via email. “We thank Lou Hornstine for his work in and counsel in bringing this about. We believed that Ahr’s stance, that he continued to represent the 7th Ward after his arrest defied reason; and we took the steps available to us, to put pressure on him to resign.
“I am very glad that Ahr took our demand seriously, and decided to step down, without a formal complaint being filed. We have always taken this issue seriously, and we are glad to now end this first phase of replacing the 7th ward commissioner for Radnor Township.”
Ahr, who was elected in 2016 and became board president this year, was charged on Oct. 11. He is free on 10 percent of $100,000 bail; his preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 30.