William Hathaway, 33, of Miami, Florida, United States is a convicted rapist. He grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, USA.
From West Hartford, Hathaway moved to the West Village in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. After committing a crime in New York, he moved to Miami.
William Hathaway
Before the new coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in 2020, Hathaway met a New York woman, then 23, on Tinder. After exchanging messages for a few days on the dating app, they agreed to meet in person.
On the evening of February 15, 2020, Hathaway met the woman at SoHo House New York in Meatpacking District, Manhattan. Later that evening, he took the woman to his apartment in the West Village where they started to have consensual sex.
While pushing on Hathaway’s chest, the woman told him to stop at least five times but he ignored her and went on to rape her without a condom. After the crime, she moved out of New York and since then, she has battled with suicidal thoughts and alcohol abuse.
On April 24, 2025, a New York State Supreme Court jury found Hathaway guilty of rape in the third degree. The conviction makes clear that initial consent is not a blank check for rape, Manhattan district attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. stated.
On August 19, 2025, Hathaway appeared before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Josh E. Hanshaft, 59. The woman Hathaway raped in 2020 told the court, “That night, he took my control.”
“He took away my voice,” the woman said of Hathaway. “He took away my dignity.”
Prosecutors sought a four-year prison term but according to Hanshaft, there were better alternatives for Hathaway instead of incarceration. Represented by Aida Leisenring, the Miami resident told the court that since his arrest, he has tried to respond to the experience in ways that reflect loyalty and responsibility.
“I now date with the intention of long term relationships,” Hathaway claimed. “I want to be a good boyfriend, a good husband, a good father one day.”
Hanshaft sentenced Hathaway 10 years of probation. The judge ordered the convicted rapist to register as a sex offender and partake in a sex offender treatment program.
Josh Hanshaft
Aside from New York City, Hanshaft has lived in other parts of New York including East Quogue, Flushing, Forest Hills and Somers. In 1992, he graduated from the City University of New York School of Law Long Island City, New York City and in 1995, he was admitted to the bar.
From January 1996 to December 2013, Hanshaft was a prosecutor at the King County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York City. From January 2014 to December 2016, he was a New York City Council legislative attorney.
In January 2015, Hanshaft founded the musical study app My BarTunes, which is designed to help law students prepare for the bar exam. In January 2017, he became a civil court judge in New York City.
CONAN Daily 