Update: 1/21/2025: This article was significantly updated after initial publication to include additional information.
Accusations that a retired Coast Guard rear admiral shoplifted from a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania sex shop in 2019 were later dropped following a lawsuit.
Retired Rear Adm. Francis Pelkowski was accused of taking an item from Kink Shoppe on Oct. 8, 2019, according to a now-removed Instagram post by the store. In the post, which included apparent security camera footage of the incident, a man could be seen looking at products on a counter before picking up an item and placing it in his pocket before turning and walking away. The original social media post claimed the man was Pelkowski.
“Mr. Pelkowski denies any criminal conduct, has not been charged with any such conduct and will address any issues related to the posting or its motivations, in appropriate venues,” Kevin Byrnes, an attorney for Pelkowski, told Task & Purpose in 2019.
According to a passage of a settlement document between Pelkowski and Fred Hovermann, the owner of the shop, the two parties reached an agreement in 2022 that stipulated the plaintiff, Pelkowski, “denies any wrongdoing” and that the defendants “have agreed to remove the video and photographs from their internet social media platforms as they acknowledge that they may have misinterpreted and mischaracterized the actions depicted in the video.”
Pelkowski, who retired from the service in May 2018 after 38 years, oversaw the Coast Guard’s more than 7,000 reservists as the Deputy Commandant for Operations Senior Reserve Officer.