The off-duty policeman went to the home of a mildly mentally retarded woman two days after she was involved in a car crash and convinced her to have sex with him, prosecutors said.

He spent time on a police department computer "chatting" by Internet with numerous young teenage girls, asking them to sneak out of their homes late at night and meet him, according to court documents.

He invited them to sit with him in his car where they said he'd kiss them, fondle their breasts, and ask them to have sex, the girls told investigators.

And for certain girls, investigators said, he would offer to not file criminal charges against them, their friends or family in return for special favors.

This morning, Robert J. Pavlovich Jr., 39, a former Manheim Township policeman now living in Camp Hill, was arrested by state police and charged with misusing his position as a police officer to have illegal sexual contact with teenage girls.

Pavlovich had been working as a policeman in Marysville, Perry County, until earlier this year when state police began receiving complaints about a uniformed policeman who was approaching young girls with sexual proposals or touching them inappropriately.

The allegations sparked a state police investigation, led by Trooper Denny Grimm. Grimm was joined by members of Attorney General Tom Corbett's Public Corruption Unit, and their findings led to a statewide investigative grand jury probe.

In March, Pavlovich was suspended from his police officer's position with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation.

According to the attorney general's office, about 20 teenage girls, along with their parents and police officers, testified before the grand jury of their experiences with Pavlovich.

Prosecutors also showed the grand jury records from the Marysville Police computer system indicating contact between Pavlovich and numerous young women using the MySpace networking website.

Ultimately, the grand jury recommended charges be filed, prosecutors said, and today they were. Pavlovich surrendered to state police this morning and was awaiting arraignment at press time.

The charges, prosecutors said, included involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and sexual assault, two counts each of unlawful contact with a minor and bribery, four counts of indecent assault, and 14 counts corruption of minors.

In 1995, Pavlovich was charged and acquitted of indecently assaulting a teenage girl in Lancaster County while he was employed as a Manheim Township policeman. Although the jury found Pavlovich not guilty, he was fired.

Pavlovich then went to work for the police department in Duncannon, a community northwest of Harrisburg. After two similar complaints, officials said, he left that department and in 2000 joined the police department of Marysville, a borough just north of Duncannon.

According to court documents, Pavlovich, while serving as a Marysville police officer, allegedly approached 14 different teenagers with sexual solicitations or suggested that the girls engage in other illegal conduct, including underage drinking.

One young woman in particular, described in court documents as "mildly mentally retarded," told investigators that she performed oral sex on Pavlovich when he came to her home.

Under the law, because the young woman is mentally retarded she is incapable of consenting to sexual contact.

Prosecutors explained that Pavlovich had responded to a car accident involving the young woman two days before their alleged sexual encounter.

At the time of the traffic accident, prosecutors noted, the woman's father said he specifically thanked Pavlovich for helping his daughter because she is somewhat mentally retarded.

Two days later, according to court documents, while the 19-year-old woman was home alone, Pavlovich came to her house, allegedly exposed himself and made persistent sexual advances toward her until she performed oral sex on him.

The other cases summarized in the 28-page grand jury document describe an assortment of encounters Pavlovich allegedly had with girls, some as young as 12.

Prosecutors said Pavlovich had indecent contact with three teenage girls and had contacted two other minors for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.

He would meet them in parks, have them sit in his car or come to their homes when they were alone, prosecutors said the girls testified. The girls said the officer fondled their breasts and asked them to have sex with him.

He would talk to them while he was on duty and then contact them by phone or computer, prosecutors said the girls testified, asking them to sneak out of their homes and meet him when he finished work.

In addition, the grand jury heard testimony that Pavlovich solicited sex from two other girls, promising them that he wouldn't file criminal charges against them, their family or friends.

One girl testified that she repeatedly refused Pavlovich's sexual advances until the night of her 16th birthday. She was at an underage drinking party and was intoxicated when the policeman arrived.

Pavlovich allegedly pulled the girl aside, telling her how much legal trouble she and her friends could face. The girl later told her friends that she had sex with Pavlovich so that none of the others involved would get in trouble, according to the grand jury report.

The same girl said on another occasion Pavlovich deliberately falsified a blood-alcohol test so that she and two of her friends would not face criminal prosecution, according to court documents.

According to the grand jury document, the girl said Pavlovich also did not arrest her drug supplier at her request and allegedly gave her $20 to buy cocaine.

Another girl told the grand jury that Pavlovich offered not to charge her with drunken driving if she would perform a sex act on him. When she refused, he stalked her, the girl said.

One girl told her father of Pavlovich's unwanted attention. He contacted Marysville Police Department, according to the report, and the contact between the officer and his daughter stopped.

Another girl told her mother of the police officer's alleged advances, and her mother in turn went to the Marysville police chief. The chief told her "nothing could be done unless they had a recording of Pavlovich saying these things," according to the report.

A third girl's mother, believing the officer was interested in her daughter, went to the state police with her concerns, according to the grand jury report.

During the subsequent investigation, according to the court documents, Pavlovich, who is married and the father of one child, reportedly tried to commit suicide twice.

"Police officers are a living symbol of law and order," Corbett said in announcing the arrest today, "with a sworn duty to protect and serve our citizens, including our children."

"No child should ever be victimized in this manner, and there is no room in any community for a sexual predator disguised as a police officer."

CONTACT US: jkelley@LNPnews.com or 481-6026