The former owner of two gay nightclubs in Orlando’s Milk District and his husband were each sentenced to at least a decade in federal prison Friday after pleading guilty earlier this year to exchanging sexually explicit texts with a 15-year-old boy in 2020.
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Richard Kowalczyk will spend 14 years in federal custody while Eric Patrick, Kowalczyk’s husband, was sentenced to 10 years for attempted coercion of a minor. Both prison sentences will be followed by 10 years of supervised release, District Judge Carlos Mendoza announced in federal court in Orlando.
In court, both men, dressed in red Seminole County Jail jumpsuits, expressed remorse and apologized to their families and to their victim for their actions.
“These are the consequences of my own moral failings. … I am deserving of punishment,” Patrick said. Kowalczyk, speaking to his mother, added, “You and dad raised me to be better than this, and I’m sorry for disappointing you.”
The couple’s arrests last year shocked Orlando’s LGBTQ community as Kowalczyk was then the co-owner of Southern Nights Orlando and District Dive, two popular nightclubs.
Mendoza’s rulings were issued after impassioned pleas by Kowalczyk’s and Patrick’s families for leniency. In exchange for both men pleading guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, other charges like conspiracy and the receipt and distribution of child pornography, which could have led to life sentences, were dismissed.
“This is not a happy day for you or anyone here today,” Mendoza said to Patrick, whose hearing took place first while loved ones tearfully observed from the gallery.
Kowalczyk and Patrick were arrested in January 2025, a month after a grand jury indictment centering on text messages exchanged between the couple and a 15-year-old they met on Grindr, a dating app for gay men. According to court filings, the teen, who prosecutors said did not cooperate with the investigation, sent the couple sexually explicit photos they’d later shared with each other while discussing them over text.
The couple’s home was raided by federal agents in 2023, and prosecutors said a search of Kowalczyk’s phone uncovered a collection of “approximately 83 images and two videos of child exploitation, including minors under 12 years old.”
Some of the texts, which contained sexually graphic descriptions of what the couple wanted to do to the 15-year-old, were read aloud and uncensored by Mendoza in open court.
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Ahead of sentencing, Mendoza heard from the couple’s loved ones, including their parents. Both men were described as being accomplished, dedicated to their families and loving fathers to their 1-year-old daughter. Patrick’s parents now have temporary custody of the little girl.
Their attorneys said an investigation by the Florida Department of Children and Families after their arrest found the child was not in any danger.
“What Eric did was an extreme lapse in judgment, and I’m still struggling to understand,” said Patrick’s mother, Nancy Patrick. “I love my son.”
Kowalczyk’s mother, Kathleen Kowalczyk, spoke on behalf of her son and was denied a chance to hug him before he was taken away. Meanwhile, his sister, Holly Kowalczyk, said, “If you knew my brother like we know him, you would know this is not his character. … I don’t know what we’re going to do without him. He is the glue to our family.”
As Kowalczyk was escorted out of the courtroom by security following the hearing, his family yelled out, “We love you, Rick.”
After his arrest, Kowalczyk turned his stake in the businesses over to his partner. With his conviction, he will have to register as a sex offender once he leaves prison and will likely never be able to own a nightclub again.
Patrick, meanwhile, was a teacher at Gotha Middle School from 2021 to 2024, when Orange County Public Schools said he resigned for personal reasons.
Kowalczyk’s lawyer, Andrew Searle, said the couple’s arrest led to a flurry of threatening messages online, many of which were submitted to the court.
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“The community essentially wants to burn him in effigy,” Searle said.