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"Manhattan Manny" Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing Boy
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 2, 2009
Modified Oct 2, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 2, 2009
Modified Oct 2, 2009
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A Hunter college student who worked as a self-described "boy-savvy" babysitter pleaded guilty yesterday to sexually abusing an 8-year-old boy. Jonathan Then, 20, was dragged out of class by police in May and charged with molesting four boys, ages 8 to 13. But prosecutors cut a deal to spare the children from testifying, and Then faces up to 12 years in prison on a single count of first-degree criminal sexual act.
Then, who graduated from a high school for gifted students in Connecticut, worked as a volunteer classroom aide to second-graders and third-graders at the fancy Dalton and Trevor Day schools on the Upper East Side, was employed at summer camps throughout the tri-state area, and was a babysitter for more than 20 families.
Investigators began looking into his conduct after he was accused of fondling an 8-year-old boy he was caring for in Brooklyn Heights; the victim's 11-year-old sister convinced him to tell their mother. At the time of his arrest, prosecutors said he had access to "hundreds of other young boys," but it's unclear how many were abused by the so-called "Manhattan Manny."
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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