By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT—A pedophile babysitter who volunteered at some of Manhattan's most elite schools, including Dalton and Trevor Day School on the Upper East Side, pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually abusing an 8-year-old boy.
Jonathan Then, 21, from Washington Heights, also admitted to molesting three other young boys he cared for in prepared court statements filed at Manhattan Criminal Court.
His victims—who DNAinfo will not identify because they suffered sexual abuse—live in the Upper East Side, TriBeCa and Brooklyn. He was only formally charged for one of the assaults.
Then reportedly studied at Hunter College and majored in early childhood education after previously attending the University of Connecticut, where he worked at a daycare center, according to court papers.
Officials at Trevor Day School's conducted a background check on Then, but it turned up clean and Dalton never noticed anything improper during his six-month term as a volunteer, according to the Daily News.
Then told police he was 17 years old when he started working at summer camps. In fall 2007, he was listed on Sittercity.com, a Web site to search for and register as a babysitter.
He is now expected to serve 12 years in prison and be supervised for 10 years after his release in a plea deal arranged by prosecutors.
Dressed in a navy striped suit, Then admitted to all the allegations put before him in court on Thursday.
He said he knew what he was doing was wrong, but could not help himself, in his court statement. He blamed his behavior on sexual abuse he claimed he had experienced as a child.
"I worried about what I was doing to him, if it was going to mess him up," Then said about the 8-year-old victim of the crime he pleaded guilty to.
His family embraced one another and cried in the gallery of the Manhattan courtroom as the judge confirmed his guilty plea.
He repeatedly asked for counseling in the statements, prepared May 9. "I ask that whatever happens, I please get the medical help I need to one day return to being normal. I am sorry," he said.
The acts Then confessed to occurred between January and March of 2009, according to court papers. All but one took place at the boys' homes.
He admitted to touching his Upper East Side victim while playing video games at an ice cream shop on E. 93rd Street. He looked after the child one day a week after school since November 2008 and frequently took the boy to places like Nintendo World, ESPN Zone and the park, according to court documents.
Then was arrested on May 7, 2009 in Manhattan after Brooklyn authorities had already charged him.
Barry Weinstein, Then's attorney, said the prison sentences for all of the charges will run concurrent.
"It is a very unfortunate situation," Weinstein said.
