DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — A former member of the Harrisburg Symphony has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies for sexual abuse against a child for over a decade.
Odin J. Rathnam, 58, from Sheffield Lake, Ohio, has been charged with three counts of rape of a child, three counts of rape of a child- serious bodily injury, three counts of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, three counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child, three counts of indecent exposure, three counts of unlawful contact with a minor- sexual offenses, two counts of corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor- sexual offenses, statutory sexual assault and various additional corruption of minors and indecent assault charges.
According to the Lower Paxton Township Police Department, Rathnam was arrested at his Ohio home on a warrant issued by the Lower Paxton Bureau of Police on the charges of rape of a child, and multiple other sexual offenses, against a child under the age of 10 that happened over the course of several years in multiple locations throughout Dauphin County and other areas of Pennsylvania between 2008 and 2019.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim suffered numerous physical/medical issues following Rathnam's abuse.
Over the course of the investigation, multiple conversations were legally recorded between Rathnam and the victim. FOX43 obtained the recordings, where Rathnam largely didn't directly acknowledge or denied the alleged assaults.
However, when the victim further pressed him, Rothman blamed addiction and heavy drinking on his alleged actions.
When the victim brought up the idea of taking her story to the police and asked Rathnam how he would react, he said, "No matter what I do, there's still things that could come out [and] ruin me. I can't undo the past of my life, all I can do is try to move forward now and do good."
The victim then said that going to the police would be the right thing for herself and any other potential victims of Rathnam's.
“I did not do this anywhere else and it stopped between us,” Rathnam said in the recordings.
In the third and final released recording, Rathnam told the victim that he remembered "wrongs" and "inappropriate physical contact" that happened between them.
An online biography states that Rathnam served as concertmaster with the Harrisburg Symphony for 21 years.
Most recently, Rathnam worked at Cleveland State University, who issued the following statement regarding Rathnam's charges:
Cleveland State University has been made aware by authorities in Pennsylvania of an investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Odin Rathnam in Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio. According to law enforcement, these allegations do not involve a CSU student, nor did the alleged incidents happen on CSU's campus.
Rathnam is no longer employed at Cleveland State, and the University will fully cooperate as needed with authorities in Pennsylvania and Sheffield Lake as they investigate.
Rathnam is currently at Dauphin County Prison and his bail was reportedly denied. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 29.
Anyone with information regarding this case or Rathman has been asked to contact Detective Jeffery Corcoran with the Lower Paxton Bureau of Police at 717-657-5656 or email jcorcoran@lowerpaxton-pa.gov.
