On October 5, 2022, Detective Robert S. Ligon of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office charged Zachary P. Hart, age 19, with the felony offenses of unlawful contact with a minor and attempt to disseminate explicit sexual materials to a minor.  Hart had been a janitor at Williams Valley High School.  The charges relate to his online chats with an undercover police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl.  As detailed in the attached affidavit, the Commonwealth has charged that Hart solicited sex from the child using explicit language and admitted in the chat to previously having sex with an 11-year-old child.  

Following preliminary arraignment, the defendant was committed to the Dauphin County Prison pending a preliminary hearing.  The preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 31, 2022, before Magisterial District Judge Rebecca Margerum.  Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle will prosecute the case. These charges are mere allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent.

Francis T. Chardo, District Attorney