BRISTOL, PA – A 62-year-old man was convicted by a Bucks County jury on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, for the repeated sexual assault of a boy during a 12-year period from 1995 to 2007.
David Charles Hofmann, of Bristol Township, was found guilty of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a person less than 13 years old, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a person less than 16 years old, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old, statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors. His sentencing was deferred as he undergoes a sex offender registration assessment.
The trial, before Common Pleas Judge Brian T. McGuffin, began on Monday, and a unanimous verdict was reached Wednesday in less than an hour of jury deliberations. During closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Sarah K. Heimbach told the juror how the victim’s “world was forever changed in the summer if 1995.”
That is when the Hofmann began sexual abusing the victim for more than a decade. The incidents took place most frequently at the victim’s home. Over the years of abuse, Hofmann plied the victim with numerous gifts to buy his silence. During the assaults, Hofmann was considered a friend to the victim’s family and referred to as “Uncle Dave.” Hofmann lived with the victim’s family at various times throughout the 12-year period of abuse. In 2007, the victim disclosed the abuse to his parents, but the abuse was not reported to police at that time.
However, the victim’s parents recorded a video conversation with the defendant soon after the disclosure. In the video, which was played during trial, Hofmann admitted to sexually abusing the victim. Thirteen years after the abuse ended, the victim, now in his 30s, “wanted to take control back of his life and walked into the Falls Township Police Department on Feb. 5, 2020, and told them what happened,” Heimbach told the jury.
During a second recorded confession, Hofmann, in a phone conversation with the victim, again admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing victim when he was a boy.
“With his brave decision to come forward once he was ready to do so, this brave victim sends a powerful message to victims of sex abuse everywhere: it’s never too late to speak your truth,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said. “I am proud of him, and of our prosecution team, who persevered to hold this defendant accountable for his heinous crimes. He will certainly pay a price.”
The case was investigated by Falls Township Police Detective Stephen Reeves and Bucks County Detective Robert Gorman and Assistant District Attorney Sarah K. Heimbach prosecuted the case.