Orange County man pleads guilty in child sexual abuse case

Joshua Davis-Harrington, a 20-year-old New Hampton man, pleaded guilty June 29 in Orange County Court in Goshen to course of sexual conduct against a child. Prosecutors said the conduct involved a child under 11 and took place over a span from July 2023 through February 2024.

The plea means the case now moves to sentencing, which is scheduled for October. Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said, “Crimes against defenseless children demand the harshest punishment.” His office plans to recommend 18 years in state prison, followed by 10 years of post-release supervision, and Davis-Harrington will also have to register as a sex offender.

The guilty plea avoids a trial, but it does not end the court process. In practical terms, the October sentencing will determine the prison term, the length of state supervision after release, and the formal conditions that will follow Davis-Harrington as a registered sex offender. For Orange County prosecutors, that makes the plea a major step, but not the final one, in a case they have treated as a serious child abuse matter.

New York Penal Law 130.75 defines course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree as a class B felony. The statute covers repeated sexual conduct over a period of at least three months involving a child under 11, or involving a child under 13 when the defendant is 18 or older. Those standards place the Orange County case among the most serious sex offenses prosecuted in local court.

Orange County Court in Goshen is where criminal matters are heard for the county outside New York City, making it the venue for major felony cases from communities such as New Hampton, Middletown, Newburgh, Monroe and Port Jervis. In child abuse investigations, the Orange County Child Advocacy Center in Goshen provides a separate support track for children and families, with forensic interviews, medical exams, advocacy and trauma-informed services in a safe setting during the investigative phase. The plea now leaves sentencing as the point at which the county’s response becomes concrete in prison time, supervision and registration requirements.