On April 4, David Hartman, 56, of Rochester, was arrested after allegedly attempting to exchange money and drugs for sex. As a result, Hartman was charged with manufacturing, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, criminal use of a communication facility, intentional possession of a controlled substance, use and possession of drug paraphernalia, and patronizing prostitutes.
According to the criminal complaint, Throop police conducted an investigation into a suspected prostitution operation on April 4, 2025. As part of the investigation, officers utilized a confidential informant to create a post on a website known for soliciting sex in exchange for drugs or money. Following the creation and publication of the post, Hartman allegedly contacted the undercover officer and agreed to exchange $200 and “powder cola” for sexual services. At approximately 11:40 p.m. that evening, Hartman allegedly sent a follow-up text message to the undercover officer, stating that he was five minutes away from the designated meeting location and was getting off the Throop exit of the interstate.
At 11:45pm, officers allegedly spotted a Ford pickup truck with New York registration plates enter the parking lot of the designated meeting location. After parking, Hartman allegedly exited the vehicle and approached the door, where he was met by undercover officers and taken into custody. During the arrest, Hartman allegedly admitted that he intended to exchange both drugs and money for sex, and reportedly further disclosed that there was marijuana inside his truck. After providing consent for a vehicle search, officers discovered $200 in cash and a cylindrical container holding a white powdery substance, which was later confirmed to be cocaine.
The CSE Institute commends the Throop Borough Police Department and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office for their efforts in arresting and prosecuting Hartman. However, in cases such as this, we urge law enforcement to consider utilizing Pennsylvania’s sex trafficking statute in addition to the current charges. This is especially important given the high rates at which exploitation occurs. Applying the human trafficking statute not only strengthens accountability for buyers but also shifts the focus toward identifying, supporting, and protecting individuals who may be victims of coercion or trafficking.
Under Pennsylvania law, a person is guilty of trafficking if they recruit, entice, solicit, patronize, advertise, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain an individual if they know or recklessly disregard that the individual is subject to involuntary sexual servitude. In Pennsylvania, sexual servitude includes any sex act or performance involving a sex act in exchange for anything of value obtained by force, fraud, or coercion.
In this case, we believe a trafficking charge against Hartman is warranted. The facts allege that Hartman deliberately arranged to meet an individual for the purpose of exchanging drugs and money for sexual acts—conduct that clearly falls within several acts described in 3011, including enticing, patronizing, and providing. Exchanging drugs for sex acts is an especially powerful tool of coercion for an addicted person. Therefore, charging Hartman under this statute would more accurately reflect the nature and severity of the offense.
As we praise the efforts of the Throop Borough Police Department and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office for investigating, arresting, and charging Hartman, we also recognize the legal reform that needs to happen for individuals to be properly charged under the Pennsylvania Human Trafficking statute.
With that, The CSE Institute advocates for the adoption of the Equality Model throughout the United States. The Equality Model consists of four key elements: (1) decriminalization of the prostituted person, (2) criminalization of sex buyers and facilitators with a commitment to treating buying sex as a serious crime, (3) a public education campaign about the inherent harms of prostitution, and (4) funded, robust, and holistic exit services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The Equality Model directly targets the demand for buying sex by criminalizing sex buyers and traffickers, while decriminalizing the people who are being bought and sold for commercial sex. The decriminalization of people in prostitution recognizes those who are bought and sold for sex as exploited, not as perpetrators of a crime.
Hartman’s preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for April 17, is scheduled to be held on May 8 before District Judge Paul Keeler.
The CSE Institute will provide updates as they become available.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.