David Hartshorn, 59, who is serving 18 years for sexually abusing teen boys, will see his home go under the hammer to pay damages
A pedophile serving for 18 years for sexually abusing teen boys will have his house auctioned off to pay damages toward his victims.
David Hartshorn, 59, a former Little League coach, will see his Queens home go under the hammer on Wednesday with bids starting at $200,000.
Scott Charnas, lawyer for the victims, told the New York Post: ‘There is some psychic satisfaction in selling the only asset that this man has.
‘The boys will never get enough money, but maybe this will help give them a little bit of a start in life.’
Hartshorn was jailed in 2012 after admitting three counts of criminal sex and two counts of use of a child in a sexual performance.
He admitted abusing his position as a coach in order to get close to the boys before inviting them to his house, where they were abused.
All of the victims were aged either 13 or 14 and were abused over the course of a year between 2009 and 2010.
Until his admission he was a trusted member of the community, having run the Rochdale Village Little League and once earning coach of the year.
Neighbors told the New York Daily News at the time that he often hosted sleepovers at his house for the boys, but that nobody suspected he was an abuser.
The property, on 144th Avenue in Queens, is Hartshorn’s only asset and will be sold for a minimum of $200,000 at a sheriff’s auction
He was also active in local politics, once working on the reelection campaign of a Democrat Manhattan councilman.
But that illusion was shattered in 2011 when one of his victims told his parents about what had been happening inside the property.
When police raided the house they found decades worth of tapes showing the boys having sex with each other and other ‘inappropriate sexual contact.’
Hartshorn had been arrested over 20 years ago for endangering the welfare of a child, but plead guilty to a misdemeanor and served community service.
After he was sentenced, Hartshorn’s victims sued and were awarded $3.1million in damages, but the home was his only asset.