Crime & Safety

Chesco Man, 2 Women Face Hundreds of Child Sex Charges

District Attorney says the defendants "murdered the childhood of" four victims



A Chester county man, his wife, and his ex-girlfriend are facing charges of sexually and physically abusing four young children. Court charging documents allege the abuse began in 1989 and went on for decades.

Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan's office announced the arrests of Warren Earl Yerger, Leslie Yerger, and Deborah Keeley Friday.  They are charged with sexually abusing three girls and one boy who were in his care from 1989-2012. Warren Yerger faces more than 500 criminal charges.

State Police investigators say the children were as young as 3 when the crimes started in 1989. The District Attorney says the abuse took place in Chester County, Berks County, McKean County, and Montgomery County.The assaults went on for decades and included hundreds of incidents, Hogan said.

According to the District Attorney's office Warren Yerger "sometimes told people that he was saying nightly prayers with two of the victims, then would lock the door to their rooms and sexually assault them. He also told one victim that he 'would beat the evil out of him [the victim].'”

The three defendants are charged with rape, aggravated indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, conspiracy, and related charges.

"Defendant Warren Yerger has been charged with every legally appropriate charge for sexually abusing these children," Hogan said. "There is no charge that exists for it, but he ought to be charged with murdering the childhood of these victims.”

Warren Yerger is being held in lieu of $1 million bail in Chester County Prison. Leslie Yerger and Deborah Keeley are being held on $500,000 bail each in Chester County Prison.

Find out what's happening in West Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.