The 17 men in the mugshots displayed had two things in common. They were all accused child sexual predators facing felony charges and they were all arrested this year in Bensalem.
The charges against them include possessing child pornography and soliciting sex from a minor. Six men traveled to Bensalem to meet who they thought was a middle-school-age girl for sex, authorities said.
Two of the defendants have been convicted of sex crimes that put them on the Megan’s Law list, according to Bensalem police, who announced the arrests on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at the Bensalem Municipal Building.
Bensalem Director of Public Safety Bill McVey speaks about 17 arrests of alleged child sexual predators in Bensalem since January at a press conference on Oct. 15, 2025.
Bensalem Director of Public Safety William McVey said he not only wanted to highlight the work of his department and other law enforcement against individuals who sexually exploit children, but warn parents about the extent of the dangers lurking on their children’s electronic devices.
“Parents need to be vigilant,” McVey said.
Over the last three years, Bensalem police have charged 49 individuals with child sexual exploitation crimes, McVey said. He added he believes his officers have only scratched the surface of predators out there.
All but one of the men arrested this year are not Bensalem residents. At least two live in New Jersey and another in Maryland. Most of the defendants had no prior arrests for child sex crimes, but two were registered Megan’s Law sex offenders, police said.
One of the Megan’s Law offenders, 49-year-old Anthony Dillard, of West Chester, is facing additional felony charges after police allegedly found 500 files and 94 videos depicting child pornography on his cellphone when he was originally arrested in May.
Dillard has been a lifetime registered sex offender since 2016 when he was convicted in Chester County of statutory sexual assault of a minor and corruption of minors, according to a probable cause affidavit and the court docket.
He is awaiting trial in Bucks County Correctional Center in lieu of bails set at $30 million on felony charges for attempting to meet a 13-year-old girl and $3 million for the child pornography possession charges.
McVey said that investigations leading to six arrests for child pornography possession and distribution were started after police received cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The remaining arrests were the result of investigations by a Bensalem detective who “proactively” engaged with suspects online, McVey said, adding that no child was placed at risk.
Those defendants allegedly befriended who they believed was a 13-year-old girl through online dating or social media apps, then quickly launched into sexually explicit conversation, requests for nude photos, and arranging in-person meetings for sex, McVey said.
The most recent arrest occurred last month after a 31-year-old Bethlehem man allegedly showed up at an apartment complex to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex.
Instead, he was met by police who took him into custody, just like five other defendants before him.
“Their intentions were clear to us in law enforcement as they traveled from a specific location at times with condoms and candy in their possession at the time of the arrest,” McVey said.
The press conference was held days after a 43-year-old Lehigh County man pleaded guilty to felony charges for engaging in sex with a 13-year-old Bucks County girl last year who was allegedly sex-trafficked after she befriended a man online posing as a teen boy.
Bensalem Police Department released these 15 apps that parents should know about at a press conference on recent arrests involving alleged child sexual predators.
McVey implored parents educate themselves and monitor their children’s online activity, review a list of 15 apps that are popular with child predators and talk to their children about the dangers of sharing information and images online.
“Speak to them about these hidden dangers,” McVey said. “What we have seen is these individuals, these predators are constantly in chatrooms and social media platforms engaging.”
If parents notice anything suspicious, they should immediately contact police, he added.
Bucks County District Attorney Jen Schorn praised Bensalem police for their efforts to protect children and promised that her office would be just as “unrelenting in their prosecution.”
“We know sadly these predators are walking among us,” she added.
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Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bensalem urges parents to be vigilant against child sexual predators