An owner of a popular LGBTQ drag nightclub in central Florida has been arrested on several federal child sex crime charges. Richard Kowalczyk, 44, of Orlando, and his romantic partner, Eric Patrick, 31, a teacher, are accused of “extremely serious” crimes against children, such as coercing minors to engage in sexual activity and distributing and possessing child pornography, according to federal court filings.
Kowalczyk, the now-former owner of Southern Nights in Tampa and Orlando, is alleged to have discussed past sexual encounters involving minors with an individual named in the indictment as “suspect under investigation.”
The pair allegedly exchanged sexually explicit images and videos featuring minors as young as 7 years old. These conversations occurred between April 16, 2022, and August 15, 2022, on the messaging app Telegram, according to the
indictment filed on January 2 by the United States District Court Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.
On February 8, 2023, law enforcement confiscated Kowalczyk’s iPhone as a result of the investigation. On the same day, a search warrant was executed at Kowalczyk’s Orlando residence, where he resides with Patrick. Both Kowalczyk and Patrick’s electronic devices were seized by law enforcement, per court documents.
“They both very clearly engaged in predatory deviant sexual behavior towards minors. Their behavior went on for years, demonstrating their acts as intentional,” the indictment reads.
Investigators found 83 images and two videos of child exploitation on Kowalczyk’s iPhone, as stated in the indictment. A portion of the images depict minors under the age of 12. Kowalczyk and Patrick exchanged messages from November 2019 to March 2021, which contained child pornographic images and discussions of child exploitation.