Couple charged with sexual assault appears in court
GLASTONBURY, CT (WFSB) -
A Glastonbury couple accused of sexually abusing their adopted children made their first appearance at Manchester Superior Court Thursday.
On Wednesday, police arrested George Harasz, 48, and Douglas Wirth, 43, both of Williams Street East after two separate investigations into the allegations in February and August. The couple runs a dog breeding business in Glastonbury.
According to the state Department of Children and Families, the couple adopted nine children from three separate sibling groups between 2001 and 2008.
Wirth is out on bond. His partner George Harasz is expected to bond out by tonight.
In the meantime, friends and family insist the couple never did anything wrong.
The parents of Wirth did not speak after he was arraigned on sex assault charges, and neither did he after he was bonded out.
The brother and friends of Wirth's partner, Harasz, did have something to say in connection with charges.
"They're good guys. From everything I've seen over a decade of time, they're good parents," said Richard Harasz, the brother of Harasz.
Police cannot share a lot of information about the case because it involves minors, and sex assault allegations.
Richard Harasz though, believes he has an idea about why this all happened
"Because of money. I think it's all because it's money driven," he said.
DCF Commissioner Joette Katz said the children have been removed from the home and that the agency was able to keep them together with their biological siblings.
Katz called the allegations against the couple "shocking and appalling."
"I hope that going forward, we can make horrible incidents like this as rare as humanly possible," Katz said in a press release.
Harasz is charged with:
- First-degree sexual assault
- Third-degree sexual assault
- Aggravated sexual assault
- Risk of injury to a minor (two counts)
- Cruelty to persons
- Harasz is being held in lieu of $100,000 bond.
Wirth has been charged with:
- Third-degree sexual assault
- Risk of injury to a minor
- Wirth is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond.