PITTSBURGH — A former Emergency Operations Center Manager for Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh is accused of sexually assaulting a child who was in his care.
Henry Caparelli, 68, of Pittsburgh, is charged with multiple counts of aggravated indecent assault, a count of unlawful contact with a minor, two counts of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, a count of endangering the welfare of children and two counts of corruption of minors.
According to a criminal complaint, a victim wrote the allegations in the notes app on her phone and a parent discovered it. The allegations were reported to the police and an investigation began.
Investigators said they interviewed the victim at UPMC Children’s Hospital Child Advocacy Center in September. The victim told an interviewer she kept what happened in her notes app because she did not want to talk about the situation out loud.
Court documents say the victim told them that her former babysitter, “Hank” Caparelli, had sexually assaulted her when she was under the age of nine.
Police said Caparelli is accused of spanking the victim, watching pornography in her presence and touching her over and under her clothing on multiple occasions. The victim reportedly told officers that he would rub her legs “all the time.”
“Based upon Jane Doe’s statements, your affiant believes that probable cause exists and is respectfully requesting that an arrest warrant be issued for Henry Caparelli,” a police officer wrote in court papers.
Caparelli spent nearly 20 years with the city of Pittsburgh in emergency operations. He left and worked with Allegheny County as the emergency operations center communications manager from 2010 to 2014.
Court documents show that Caparelli was arrested by Pittsburgh police and arraigned on Monday. He was released on unsecured bail on Tuesday.
Caparelli is scheduled to appear in court on March 18.
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