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Danny Lawhorn, age 30, of Hartford, was charged by federal criminal complaint with child enticement and narcotics distribution offenses, according to an announcement from Leonard Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, on Tuesday, Oct. 19.
Lawhorn is detained pending a hearing scheduled for Friday, Oct. 22, Boyle said. He has been in state custody since Tuesday, Oct. 5, when he was arrested on related state charges.
According to a criminal complaint, Lawhorn was the coach for a basketball program that was registered with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) from 2018 through 2020.
In 2021, the family of a girl paid Lawhorn $700 and signed a contract for the girl to play in the program, which they believed was still a part of the AAU, Boyle said.
Lawhorn and his girlfriend allegedly hosted the girl in their Hartford home.
Boyle said the complaint alleges that on June 13, Lawhorn sent the girl a voice message asking for a massage, and when she came to his room, he sexually assaulted her.
He was arrested that morning on related state charges for second-degree sexual assault, the US Attorney's Office said.
Law enforcement also found "distribution quantities of crack cocaine in his pocket" before he was arrested, Boyle said.
The criminal complaint also alleged that two other girls said Lawhorn had repeatedly sexually assaulted them when they played for his basketball team in 2017 and 2019. Both girls were under the age of 18 at the time.
On Oct. 5, Lawhorn was arrested by Hartford Police on three counts of second-degree sexual assault for assaulting one of the girls, the US Attorney's Office reported.
At the time of his arrest, Lawhorn was allegedly found in possession of about "300 wax paper sleeves containing a white powder substance that tested positive for fentanyl."
Boyle said the case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hartford Police Department.
Those who believe they have been victimized by Lawhorn are asked to contact the FBI at 203-503-5593 or online on the FBI's website.
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