Parsippany sex abuser gets 12-year prison term

A Parsippany man who initially accused his victim of being “a pathological liar” was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison for repeatedly molesting the boy over a six-year period.

Superior Court Judge Stuart Minkowitz told defendant Keith William Harp, now 46, that the only reason he accepted the plea bargain was to spare the victim, now 15, and his family the trauma of a trial.

“This defendant has to understand that his lack of self-control, his lack of a moral center, his lack of moral values and his predatory behavior comes with significant consequences,” Minkowitz said in Morristown. He had rejected a defense argument that Harp receive a 10-year sentence.

“You caused everlasting scarring for this child, not to mention the collateral effects for his family. You committed this brutal attack on a child over and over and over again,” the judge said.

Harp, who is married, has no children, and worked for an eyeglass manufacturer before becoming unemployed in January, was charged in 2013 with multiple counts of sexual abuse on the child. The boy was between the ages of seven and 13. When the victim came forward, Harp initially told people the boy was “a pathological liar” and needed psychiatric help -- acts the judge said further humiliated and intimidated the victim.

Harp ultimately pleaded guilty in January to one count of aggravated sexual assault on the boy, which encompassed acts of sexual abuse committed between 2006 and 2011. He was evaluated at the state’s Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel and found to be a compulsive and repetitive sex offender eligible for treatment at that prison facility.

His sentence in Morris County calls for him to serve 12 years in prison, with 85 percent or 10 years and nearly four months to be served before parole consideration. Upon release, he must register with police as a convicted sex offender and will be supervised on parole for life. He also was ordered to pay $3,105 in fines and penalties.

He also pleaded guilty previously in three counties in Maryland, where he assaulted the same boy. He was given a suspended 25-year prison stint in one county and placed on probation -- meaning he wasn’t imprisoned there -- and is awaiting sentencing in the other two counties. The only actual time he will serve behind bars will be in this state, on the New Jersey conviction.

Defense lawyer Robert Schwartz called Harp “a broken man who has accepted responsibility for his acts.” He said that Harp himself was sexually abused as a child and genuinely feels remorse for his crimes.

With his wife and relatives of the victim sitting in court, Harp apologized and said he wants treatment.

“Your honor, I’m very sorry. I want the help,” he said. “I will never do this again.”

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor LaJuan Tucker read aloud a letter composed by the victim, who said he thinks about suicide, feels unworthy and full of self-loathing. Tucker also read letters from other relatives, who asked for a long sentence but said they also would have helped Harp get psychological treatment if they knew -- before the molestations -- that he was attracted to children.

The victim wrote that he frequently stays indoors to play video games: “They help me block out the pain he caused me,” he said in his letter. He also wrote that he is struggling in school.

“It’s a constant reminder of how stupid and useless I feel,” he wrote.

Tucker noted that Harp, despite his guilty plea, still appears to lack insight into why he caused the abuse. She said that when Harp was accused last year, he told the victim he enjoyed engaging in the acts.

In another letter read in court by Tucker, the victim’s mother said she is hopeful that her son will heal and she is proud that he spoke up.

“He has been so brave to go through all the questions, heartache and pain,” the mother wrote of her son.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com