Nov 17, 2015 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Three “precious children” trusted Shaun Harden, but instead he used his influence to groom them before molesting them on multiple occasions last year, a Greene County prosecutor said during Harden’s trial Tuesday.

“He took the innocence away from those children,” Greene County Assistant District Attorney Christina DeMarco said during her closing arguments. “He reeled them in, developed their trust and violated their trust.”

A Greene County jury agreed, taking three hours to deliberate before finding Harden guilty on all counts during the daylong trial Tuesday in which prosecutors alleged he fondled an 11-year-old girl and two boys, ages 11 and 12, at a Cumberland Township residence between July and October 2014.

Harden, 36, of 39 Wood Ave., Nemacolin, was charged in May with three counts each of felony indecent aggravated assault of a child, indecent aggravated assault of a child under 13, corruption of minors and three misdemeanor charges each of indecent exposure and open lewdness.

The girl testified that Harden touched her genitals on three separate occasions and forced her to touch his genitals once. The two boys said Harden grinded against them on multiple occasions, including one time while the three of them were together.

DeMarco said Harden groomed the three children to gain their trust and then took advantage of them.

Harden’s attorney, Josh Camson, contended the children were lying because of turmoil in their family.

“This is all about credibility,” Camson told the jury during closing arguments. “Do you believe these child witnesses, or do you not believe them?”

Dr. Mary Carrasco, an expert in child abuse at Pittsburgh-based Child’s Place, testified that her examinations of the three children found no physical evidence of abuse, although that is not unusual in sexual assault cases.

She added there is no specific timeframe for children to come forward with abuse allegations.

“It’s common for children to disclose (information) a long time after the incident, and tell it in bits and pieces,” Carrasco said.

Meanwhile, Camson questioned the children’s responses while on the stand Tuesday morning and that they “rushed through” answers that made it appear they had been coached. Camson claimed a difficult home environment in which they had been “bouncing all over the place” before eventually living with their father.

“There’s trauma here,” Camson said, “the trauma from being bounced from home to home.”

He added there seemed to be inconsistent testimony between the two boys about facts involving one alleged incident.

“Those aren’t small differences,” Camson said. “Those are big differences.”

DeMarco said the children were brave to testify in court and that they had no reason to lie.

“What do these children have to gain by coming to court to discuss the very disturbing details of what the defendant did to them? What do they have to gain?” DeMarco said. “They made these allegations because that’s what happened. These children were abused.”

Harden will remain in Greene County jail on $50,000 bond while he awaits his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled. Camson said he was disappointed with the verdict and plans to appeal.

Harden also faces charges in an unrelated case of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct for allegedly fighting a man in a wheelchair in March and attempting to cut his throat with a knife in Cumberland Township. A plea hearing on those charges is scheduled for next month.