Police Launch Investigation Into Drugging Claims at the Dolphin

So far, we've counted at least 20 people who believe they were drugged there.

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Earlier this week, we told you that we spoke with five people who claim that they were drugged at the Dolphin on South Broad Street and that there were more people out there. Well, since publishing that story, we’ve heard from some and seen accounts written by other people who say they were victimized. At this point, we’ve seen or heard at least 20 allegations, and there are reportedly even more. And now, the Philadelphia Police Department is getting involved.

On Thursday night, Detective Manuel Gonzalez of the Philadelphia Police Department’s Special Victims/Special Investigations Unit reached out to Philly Mag, explaining that he was launching an investigation into drugging at the Dolphin along with Detective Patricia Eberhart. Special Victims Unit’s Lieutenant Harold Lloyd is also involved.

Gonzalez asked that we provide police with the names and contact information for any accusers that we spoke with. We obviously won’t do that, since most of those conversations were had under the condition of anonymity, but we will provide Gonzalez’s contact information to those we spoke with and to the general public.

Though the Special Victims Unit is typically associated with sex crimes, you do not have to be a victim of sexual assault for the department to investigate an allegation that you were drugged at the Dolphin.

And don’t think you can’t file a report just because the drugs are out of your system or if you worry that you can’t prove that you were drugged. Given the number of complaints we’ve received, police are ready to investigate the pattern of complaints, and Dolphin owner Avram Hornik has stated that he will cooperate with any investigation.

Of course, if you think you were drugged somewhere other than the Dolphin, you should file a report as well. It’s easy to think that you shouldn’t file a report because police won’t doing anything about it, but they definitely can’t do anything about it if you don’t make a statement. And Philly Mag is committed to staying on top of the investigation to make sure that your complaints are taken seriously by investigators.

If you believe you were drugged at the Dolphin or if you have information that might be helpful to police, contact Detective Gonzalez or Detective Eberhart at 215-685-3264 or 215-685-3264. Or to provide an anonymous tip to police, use this form.

“I would like any information that would help me bring justice to this case,” says Gonzalez.

Follow @VictorFiorillo on Twitter.