A former Pittsburgh and Allegheny County public safety official is accused of sexually assaulting a child he was babysitting.
Investigators say Henry Caparelli sexually assaulted a girl under the age of 9 while babysitting her.
According to the criminal complaint, the incident caught the attention of law enforcement in September after a referral to ChildLine.
Investigators say the now-15-year-old put in the Notes app on her phone that she was touched inappropriately multiple times by Hank her babysitter. Police say that’s how her mother learned of it.
“I would of never, never, never thought of that. Never. But you never know what goes on behind closed doors,” said Tom Redlinger, his neighbor, who has several grandchildren.
He explained that Caparelli kept to himself, but they knew each other.
“So sad, so sad. Glad he didn’t mess with my kids,” Redlinger said.
Tom Conroy lives up the street. He also has grandchildren who visit at times.
“This hits home with me when I hear about stuff like this,” Conroy said.
“And there’s a school a block away and so there are kids that walk this street all the time. It’s concerning,” Conroy added.
Caparelli, 68, spent nearly 30 years working in Public Safety, primarily assigned to emergency management for the city of Pittsburgh and then Allegheny County.
“Nothing much surprises me anymore. It’s sad that he’s a public servant,” Conroy said.
“Hank, shame on you, brother, that’s all I got to say,” Redlinger said.
Caparelli is facing multiple charges, including endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.