Judge: Coach accused of player sexual assaults to stay in jail
A federal judge has denied the release of a Hartford man accused of sexually assaulting three female players he coached in the basketball program run by his fiancée — a former WNBA player.
Danny Lawhorn, 30, is facing state and federal charges in connection with the allegations that he molested the girls while he was their coach in the Elite Athletic Union basketball program run by his fiancé Bria Holmes, a New Haven basketball star who played in the WNBA. Holmes has not been charged. Her organization released a statement after Lawhorn’s arrest that he had been terminated from coaching with the program.
Lawhorn was charged by Hartford and East Hartford police with eight counts of second-degree sexual assault in June and October after one of the players reported that he asked her to give him a massage and then sexually assaulted her, court documents said.
Lawhorn is also facing a federal charge of enticing a minor into sexual activity stemming from three voiceto-text messages, asking the 17-year-old on June 13 to give him a massage, court records show.
His attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, successfully argued for Lawhorn’s state bond to be reduced during a recent appearance in Hartford Superior Court. But for Lawhorn to be released, a federal judge had to sign off on the custodian who would watch his client while awaiting trial on the state and federal charges.
While indicating that he would be amenable to releasing Lawhorn, Connecticut U.S. District Court Judge Robert Richardson said Tuesday that he was uncomfortable with the arrangements Schoenhorn proposed based on the criminal history of the woman who had agreed to oversee Lawhorn while he lived in her home.
The woman, who was only identified by her initials in court proceedings, had seven convictions, with the last being in 2007, for a variety of offenses, including larceny, failure to appear in court and criminal impersonation, Richardson said. She had several aliases and may have provided several birth dates as well, the judge said.
“That does not give me a great deal of comfort that that person is going to be a good custodian,” said Richardson, who said he would consider Lawhorn’s release if a more suitable custodian was identified.
“I do think there is potential path forward, but I don’t think this is the path,” Richardson said.
The hearing was held virtually with Lawhorn appearing from the Hartford detention center where he is incarcerated on the sexual assault charges.
Schoenhorn contends that his client was not actually a paid coach, but shouted encouragement or instructions as they played games against other teams. The second-degree sexual assault charges hinge on whether Lawhorn was a coach who had power over the players. Each of the players were over the age of 16, but not 18 when the alleged incidents occurred, arrest warrants said.
The text messages did not have explicit comments requesting sexual favors, Schoenhorn said. But federal authorities contended that if released, Lawhorn is a threat to public safety.
The two people who said they would be responsible for Lawhorn if he was released both have criminal records, according to a motion to deny bond filed Monday by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj Patel and Nancy Gifford, who are prosecuting the federal charges.
Their motion also noted that the people who agreed to back his bond had financial troubles, making it impossible for them to be responsible for the $250,000 if Lawhorn flees.
“He attempted to flee while he was on pre-trial,” Patel said during the virtual hearing. “He does present a danger to the community.”
Patel also pointed out that one of the agreed cosigners of the bond only worked one or two days a week and probation officials were not able to contact some of the others who also agreed to co-sign the bond.
Lawhorn, a former college basketball player, also was found with crack cocaine when he was arrested in June and 300 wax paper sleeves of fentanyl when he tried to run from officers who were serving him with additional second-assault arrest warrants in October, court records show.
Based on the sexual assault allegations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation created a web page on Oct. 19, asking any other victims to come forward.