A Berks County man who has previously served as a police chief in Berks and Lancaster counties has been sentenced to jail for groping a woman in the Poconos in 2022.
Todd Graeff, 58, of Penn Township was convicted by a Monroe County jury in August on one count of indecent assault following a trial that lasted one day.
And on Tuesday he was sentenced to serve two months to two years, minus a day, in Monroe County Correctional Facility. The sentence was stayed pending an appeal, which as of Friday had not yet been filed, and Graeff remains free on bail.
Graeff must register as a sex offender with the Pennsylvania State Police for 15 years, Monroe Assistant District Attorney Michael Rakaczewski said Friday. That is required even though Graeff is appealing his conviction.
Graeff was police chief of the Manor Township Police Department in Lancaster County at the time of the incident. He previously served as chief of the Bernville Police Department and was a lieutenant in the Muhlenberg Township Police Department before taking on that post.
According to court documents:
The assault happened July 25, 2022, when Graeff invited the woman to his hotel room while he was at a resort in the Poconos for the annual Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association conference.
The woman said Graeff got her a wristband so she could use the water park and let her change in his room. She told police that when she exited the bathroom he made a comment that she should have changed in front of him.
While they were at the waterpark, Graeff groped the woman from behind on a ride.
The woman said she felt violated and uncomfortable, and eventually parted ways with Graeff after making up an excuse and saying she had to leave the resort.
Following the assault, Graeff told the woman to keep the incident “on the downlow” and said he knew he had crossed the line.
The women reported the incident to Pocono Mountain Regional police several weeks later.
During the investigation, the woman met with police and, at their request, called Graeff. Graeff was apologetic and said he wished the day never happened. The woman told Graeff during the call that she had sought therapy following the incident. Graeff continued to apologize and never denied her statements about being assaulted.
He was charged with indecent assault in October 2022.
According to a news report, Graeff was placed on leave by Manor Township in September 2022 and fired the following month.