PROSECUTOR: Deputy District Attorney Kate Martin, Adult Sexual Assault Prosecution
On April 11, 2025, the Honorable Shelleyanne Chang sentenced David Lee Hart to 16 years in state prison. On November 4, 2024, a jury convicted Hart of rape by force or fear and oral copulation by force or fear. The jury also found true allegations that the crime involved great callousness, the victim was especially vulnerable, and that the defendant took advantage of a position of trust to be true.
Hart knew the victim and her family, but the victim had only met Hart a few times. In December 2019, the victim was visiting Hart and his family when he sexually assaulted her. Hart had threatened her if she didn’t comply. After the sexual assault, the victim called the police, and physical evidence was recovered from the crime scene. Subsequent investigation revealed that Hart had previously admitted to drugging a woman with Ambien and sexually assaulting her while she was asleep.
