Arrest Warrants Describe Allegations Of Sexual Abuse Of Two Boys, 5 and 15, By Glastonbury Couple
By DAVID OWENS and JOSH KOVNER
MANCHESTER — — In arrest warrants made public Thursday, a 15-year-old boy describes repeated sexual assaults and physical abuse at the hands of the Glastonbury couple who adopted him and eight other boys through the state Department of Children and Families.
In a separate warrant, another adopted child, a 5-year-old boy, describes for police, DCF workers and others sexual abuse he suffered while living with George Harasz, 48, and his husband, Douglas Wirth, 43.
The heavily redacted arrest warrants were unsealed Thursday at Superior Court in Manchester, where the cases against the men are pending.
A therapist who treated Harasz and some of the children is quoted in Harasz's arrest warrant as saying she made a report to DCF more than two years ago about serious physical abuse in the family.
The therapist, Charlene Dotts-Mete, also reported to Glastonbury police investigators that Harasz admitted to her in November 2008 that he was using marijuana almost daily, and that she observed a deterioration in his mental state and the way he was treating the children, according to the warrant.
Harasz is accused of sexually assaulting both boys through sodomy and repeated inappropriate touching in bathrooms and bedrooms, according to the arrest warrants. The abuse often occurred under the guise of cleaning the boys, massages or a technique in which Harasz wrapped his legs and arms around the 15-year-old and fondled him, according to the warrant.
Wirth is accused of sexually assaulting the 15-year-old to a lesser degree, and of doing nothing to intervene as he witnessed Harasz sexually assaulting the teenager, according to the warrants. Harasz is also accused of physically abusing the 15-year-old, including hitting and slapping the boy frequently, and striking him with a belt.
Glastonbury police interviewed more than half of the couple's nine adopted children, and several said they did not experience any inappropriate sexual contact with Harasz or Wirth. One of the adopted sons and Harasz's biological daughter said no abuse occurred in the house.
In an interview, another adopted son, Chris Harasz, painted a different picture of what went on in the Harasz-Wirth home and described it as traumatic and unhealthy.
Harasz and Wirth were arrested on Nov. 30. Both are free on bail.
Harasz was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, aggravated first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons.
Wirth was charged with one count of third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor, allegedly for abuse to the 15-year-old.
The 15-year-old told police that he endured sexual abuse beginning at age 6, according to the warrants. He said he was forced to massage Harasz and Wirth, including both men's genitals, according to the warrants.
The boy also said that Harasz touched his genitals while showering and had the boy touch Harasz's genitals. Failure to do what Harasz directed resulted in beatings, the boy said.
The 15-year-old also told police that Wirth got into the shower with him and that Wirth touched his genitals and required him to touch Wirth's genitals.
In a later interview, the 15-year-old told police of being sodomized by Harasz on three occasions. He did not initially disclose the sodomy, he said, because he was uncomfortable talking about it, according to the warrant.
The boy described an occasion in which Harasz learned that he wanted to leave the home, became angry, went into his bedroom and began to strike him and beat him with a belt, according to the warrant. Harasz then pulled the boy's boxer shorts off and forcibly sodomized him, according to the warrant.
"The victim thought that George was trying to show the power he had over him, rather than satisfy a sexual urge," the warrant says.
Police noted in the warrant that throughout their investigation the 15-year-old "has remained consistent with regards to the sexual acts perpetrated on him."
The 5-year-old told police, over the course of several interviews conducted by forensic social workers, that Harasz sodomized him, according to the warrants. The boy, in a halting manner, also made disclosures about the abuse to a new foster parent, a DCF social worker, police and others. The boy said that the abuse "hurt,'' and made him feel like "I want to die," according to the warrant.
The men adopted nine boys through the DCF beginning in 2000. The boys are from three sibling groups. Harasz and Wirth received two waivers, one in 2006, and the second in 2008, in order to exceed the limit for adopted children in one household.
Police said they began an investigation into allegations of abuse in February. A second investigation began in August. The boys, three groups of siblings, were removed from the home about a month after the February investigation began, authorities said. In both cases, the state Department of Children and Families notified police about the alleged abuse.