By Rich Bockmann
After a former Rochdale Village Little League coach with a questionable past admitted last week he had used his position to abuse five young boys, a nearby lawmaker announced he would redouble his efforts to protect youngsters from sexual predators.
David Hartshorn, 54, who was once named Rochdale Village Little League Coach of the Year, pleaded guilty last week to abusing three boys at his residence and filming two other teenage boys in a sexual act between July 2009 and August 2010, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
After Hartshorn was arrested in February 2011, state Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) said the coach had been charged with similar crimes in 1989, though he was able to plead down and thus avoided being identified under the state’s sexual offender registration act. The law requires the Division of Criminal Justice Services to maintain a free, public database of sex offenders so organizations can screen potential employees or volunteers.
The state categorizes three levels of sex offenders, with Level 1 being a low risk for repeating offense, Level 2 being at a moderate risk and Level 3 being a high risk.
Only Level 2 and 3 offenders, however, are included in the database, and Hevesi said the omission of Level 1 offenders puts communities at risk.
Hevesi introduced a bill last year that would allow youth service organizations to search criminal justice records to determine if an applicant had been convicted of a sex offense.
The bill never gained any traction, though Hevesi said the new developments have prompted him to reintroduce it.
“The guilty plea of David Hartshorn highlights the urgent need to update certain sections of our state’s penal law that deal with sexual predators,” the assemblyman said. “This bill broadens youth organizations’ abilities to retrieve background checks on employees and volunteers, helping to ensure our children are cared for in a safe environment, which is why I plan on reintroducing the bill this coming January with a new [state] Senate sponsor.”
Hartshorn, who had been held without bail since his arrest, pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal sexual act and two counts of use of a child in a sexual performance, the district attorney said. He faces up to 18 years in prison next month, when he is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 8.
“The defendant has admitted to being a sexual predator who took advantage of his position as a Little League baseball coach to get close to young boys before sexually abusing them,” he said. “The consequences of his actions can have a lasting and profound impact on his victims. For that reason alone, the intended prison sentence to be meted out by the court is more than warranted.”
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
