York City Councilman Lou Rivera accused of indecent exposure

Mike Argento
York Daily Record

York City Councilman Lou Rivera has been accused of exposing himself to a man he had been interviewing for a job at a restaurant, according to court documents. 

Rivera, 51, of the 400 block of Linden Avenue, is charged with misdemeanors indecent exposure and disorderly conduct through obscene language or gestures and a summary charge of harassment. He faces a preliminary hearing on Nov. 16, according to court records. 

City Councilman Lou Rivera faces charges of exposing himself to a man. He was elected to council in 2019 and took office in January.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, the man contacted Northern York County Regional Police on Feb. 29 to report the episode, which occurred on Jan. 10. 

On that date, Detective Mark Baker wrote in the complaint, the man went to Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen in Manchester Township for a job interview with Rivera, who worked there as a manager. The victim said he knew Rivera “because he has a past with his husband.” 

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During the interview, the victim told police that Rivera asked “numerous inappropriate questions of a sexual nature,” according to the complaint. The victim told the police he “felt very uncomfortable” during the 30-minute interview, which ended with Rivera offering him the job. 

At the end of the interview, Baker wrote in the complaint, the victim asked to use the bathroom. As he washed his hands, he told police, Rivera “entered the bathroom, proceeded to the urinal and exposed himself to” the victim, Baker wrote. “Rivera invited (the victim) to come over to the urinal where Rivera was exposing himself.” 

The victim refused and left the bathroom, according to the complaint. 

The victim was scheduled to begin working at the restaurant on Jan. 13, but he decided against taking the job since Rivera would have been his supervisor, the complaint states. 

The charges were filed on Sept. 22. Northern York County Regional Police Chief Dave Lash said, “It was a long, tedious investigation.” The department had served search warrants to several social media platforms, which often go unanswered, he said. “Basically, we get it to them and then we wait,” Lash said. 

Rivera, the first openly gay Latino man to serve on city council, did not return a phone call for comment. Rivera now leads the Spanish American Multicultural Resource Center in York.  

A message left for his attorney, Niles Benn, also was not returned. 

Mayor Michael Helfrich had no comment about the charges, his chief of staff said Thursday evening. 

Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at 717-771-2046 or at mike@ydr.com.