Man Gave Meth To Teen Girls In Montco, Chesco, Demanded Sex As Payment: DA

SPRING CITY, PA — A Spring City man has been sentenced to 40 to 80 years in state prison for human trafficking and numerous sexual crimes against children, the Chester County District Attorney's Office announced.

Kevin Pethtel, 55, pleaded guilty in Nov. 2025 to trafficking minors, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, drug delivery to minors, and related counts.

The sentence was handed down by Judge Patrick C. Carmody on April 2.

Pethtel was originally arrested in Oct. 2023.

An investigation revealed that he arranged meetings with 15 and 16-year-old girls around Chester, Montgomery, and Berks counties, supplying them with fentanyl and methamphetamine and demanding sexual acts in payment, police said.

The behavior escalated to injecting one of the children directly with fentanyl and then sexually abusing her without her consent, according to authorities.

In other instances, Pethtel demanded sexually explicit photographs from the children as payment for the drugs.

Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe praised the "incredible bravery" of the victims in coming forward to authorities and in "overcoming the addiction he facilitated."

"This case demonstrates how disturbing and dangerous human trafficking can be," he added.