Pamela Adelgren is taking her convicted rapist to federal court after a Manhattan judge spared him prison time.
Adelgren, 29, filed a civil suit against William Knapp Hathaway IV, 34, more than a year after Supreme Court Justice Josh Hanshaft sentenced him to 10 years of probation and sex-offender registration despite a jury’s guilty verdict. The aspiring fashion designer told The Post in an interview this week that she remains haunted by the attack and its legal aftermath.
“I still live in fear,” Adelgren said. “Walking outside and day-to-day activities, I’m always looking over my shoulder.”
The case stems from a February 2020 Tinder date that ended at Hathaway’s West Village apartment following an evening at SoHo House. Prosecutors said the encounter began consensually but turned violent when Adelgren tried to stop. She said no at least five times, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, before Hathaway pushed her onto his bed and raped her.
A Manhattan jury found Hathaway guilty of third-degree rape in April 2025. Prosecutors sought the maximum four-year prison sentence. Hanshaft rejected that request at the August 2025 sentencing, calling probation the “better alternative” while openly questioning his own decision.
“I’m not sure if this sentence is what’s the right answer or should you be sitting in a jail cell for a while to get a sense of what incarceration is about,” the judge said from the bench.
Adelgren called the outcome devastating. “It was a slap in the face,” she said. “I wasn’t taken very seriously, and that this type of case isn’t taken very seriously.”
She added: “I am happy he was convicted, but it just seems like such a light sentence for what he did to me.”
The probation-only punishment drew sharp criticism from legal observers and sexual assault advocates. Adelgren said the experience shattered her trust in the justice system itself.
“It’s just hard to trust in the justice system now,” she said. “He got off pretty easy… the system needs to change.”
The attack derailed a promising career trajectory. Adelgren had recently arrived in New York City to pursue fashion when the assault occurred. “He ruined my life there,” she said. She has since relocated to North Carolina, where she works as a sewist specializing in furniture upholstery and is preparing to start a new position making dancewear.
Her federal lawsuit seeks damages for battery, assault and emotional distress, plus a restraining order against Hathaway. The defendant, who is from Connecticut but lived in Florida at sentencing, could not be reached for comment.
Adelgren framed the civil action as both personal reckoning and broader advocacy. She wants her experience to encourage other survivors to come forward despite systemic failures.
“I’m hoping it’ll bring a lot more closure and help me speak up more and fight back,” she said. “And to gain more control in my life after it was taken away.”
“My life would have been very different if [those] things didn’t happen,” Adelgren added.