Unsealed Records Detail Horsch’s 2012 Deal With Federal Prosecutors

Raymond “R.C.” Horsch provided federal authorities information about alleged child prostitution, drug trafficking and fraud while seeking a reduced sentence on drug and gun charges, newly unsealed court records show. U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond granted a request to make some records public on October 29, after a newspaper sought their release.

Horsch had pleaded guilty after a 2009 raid at his Bucks County home, where authorities found a marijuana-growing operation and firearms. The charges carried a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison. Under a 2012 agreement, prosecutors asked the court to set aside that minimum and impose a sentence of nine to 11 years.

The records say prosecutors considered his information about crimes involving children and drug trafficking credible, but too old to help identify targets for an investigation. Information he offered in a fraud case was more useful, the filing said. The documents do not specify exactly what Horsch disclosed or whether his cooperation led to prosecutions.

A judge ultimately sentenced Horsch to 54 months in prison and five years of probation. He was released in 2013 and died last year, aged 82. Prosecutors also knew of a prior child-corruption case involving an alleged effort to entice a nine-year-old girl to get into a car; after the victim did not return for a new trial, the case was dismissed and the conviction vacated.

The disclosures come amid an investigation into Horsch’s former home on Chew Avenue in Philadelphia. Police have linked seven missing women to Horsch and the property, and five are presumed dead. Investigators searched the home for evidence of human remains; bones found there were later identified as animal. Horsch’s son, Eugene, is awaiting trial on firearms and other charges. Further court records may be unsealed as the judge reviews them.