Charles Harding

*"I got books that I read. It's called 'Handjobs'"*

> -Chuck explaining his pedophilia to Chris Hansen.
>
>

Charles' Riverside mugshot

**Charles Carlton Harding** was a predator featured in the Riverside, California edition of To Catch a Predator. He is best known for his casual interest in father/son fetishism, as well as being part of a child pornography exchange ring for 35 years prior to being caught in the sting.

## Biography

65-years-old Charles Carlton Harding, using the screen name "Hardchuck1," started chatting up a decoy named "Luke," whom he believed to be a thirteen-year-old boy. Charles began the conversation by mentioning that he could be the his grandpa and that he perferred to be with teenage boys. He mentioned he enjoyed cuddling with them, caress their bodies, and "work [his] tongue all over and suck their hard cock dry." When the boy mentioned he was ashamed of the size of his penis, Charles revealed he intended to perform oral sex on the child and make him orgasm. After being drawn in by the boy's of having sex with his uncle, Charles asked what his uncle's penis size was. The next day, Charles expressed his desire to kiss and have oral sex on the boy while cuddling with him. Charles attempted to reassure the decoy after he said the men he spoke to were only interested in having sex by suggesting he would first be his friend, then mentor, and finally would want to have sex with him.

Charles asserted he preferred to lick the boy's entire body rather than penetrate him and engage in both giving and receiving oral sex. Charles follows up by sending the decoy child pornography. He indicated interest in dating the teenage boy and advised him to pose as his grandson to avoid getting into problems. When asked what he did for a living,  Charles revealed that he was retired but had previously worked as a travel agent for thirteen years, worked for frontier airlines for nearly twenty years, was a bus driver for the elderly and handicapped for five years, taught freshman year of high school, worked for the catholic church for two and a half years, and served in the air force for four years. After speaking with the decoy on the phone, Charles claimed he had a "hot" voice and volunteered to pick the boy up on the way home from his mother's house. The decoy says his mother calls to check on him and tells Charles to meet him at his house. Charles then resumes talking about having oral and anal sex and caressing, licking, and cuddling. He offers to take the boy out to dinner, the movies, to the beach, and to Disney Land. Before ending the chat, Charles ensures the boy's mother would not be around when he arrived.

## Sting

Charles arrives at the sting house. Del Harvey, posing as the teenage boy, talks to him from another room. The two share conversation before Chris Hansen enters the room and terrifies Charles. He complies when told to sit down. Chris questioned Charles' plan, and Charles replied that he had a call to make to discuss the sale of a mobile home. Charles initially attempted to claim that he was "cchard69" rather than "hardchuck1" once Chris confronted him with the conversation logs, but he was unable to sustain this defense. Then Charles tries to tell a lie by claiming that another person used his computer. Charles admitted it was him when Chris questioned whether or not it was that person.

Charles revealed he was a bus driver, worked for a travel agency, and was in the air force when Chris inquired about his occupation. Then Chris questioned if he had ever worked as a teacher. Charles mentioned that he was pursuing his teacher education in a Catholic high school during his "religious life". He also acknowledges that he belonged to the Catholic church's collared brotherhood. Chris then asks Charles why he believed it was appropriate to conduct a sexually explicit conversation with a child. Charles insisted that he used the screen name "cchard69." Chris rejects his excuses and asserts that he has a plethora of proof to back up his crime. Charles then assigns blame to the decoy, claiming that he was in a gay chat room looking for men. Chris reminds Charles whether he said he could be the boy's grandpa, and Charles replies that he did.

Later, Chris confronts him over the child pornographic material he provided to the boy. Charles acknowledges that he sent the teenager the images because the decoy was interested. Charles asserts he obtained the images from other people and denies appearing in any of the photos. Charles then told Chris a deception regarding the age of the decoy, saying he was way older than thirteen. According to Charles, he would have conversed with the boy and departed if he felt uncomfortable. Charles responded that he would have been really hesitant to have sex with the boy and that they would do it anyhow if they continued. He declared that he would depart if the boy was not "fit." Chris asks the predator that a thirteen-year-old boy is not ready to have sex with a grown man.  Charles claimed that he did not see anything improper with cuddling (kettling) and caressing the boy.

Chris inquired as to what ought to happen to him, and Charles replied that he would no longer be communicating with anyone online. Charles then revealed that he had books called "Handjobs" that he had read. He clarified that it has to do with father-son relationships. Chris shouts "FATHER/SON?!"  and argued that Charles was speaking about it as though it were a hobby. Charles said he read the book and fantasized about it. When asked if he had done it before and that it was his first time, Charles claims that he had never met teenage boys online for sex. Chris then revealed that he was with Dateline NBC, and that they were doing a story on computer predators. After that, Charles left the house and was arrested by the police.

## Arrest and death

Charles was charged with three felonies: attempted lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age, attempted harmful matter sent with intent of seduction of a minor, and attempted oral copulation with a minor under 14 years of age. His bail was set $500,000, making it one of the highest bail amounts in the history of both To Catch a Predator and Hansen vs Predator, surpassed only by Michael Seibert, Robert Lyons and Joshua Colon. Charles computer was seized, and investigators found child pornography and evidence he was a part of an exchange ring for 35 years. Charles died in jail awaiting trial a couple of weeks after his 66th birthday on August 10th, 2006, after he stopped taking blood pressure medication that was vital to the continued function of his heart.

## Trivia

* Chuck was employed at Frontier Airlines for a time, and hired in 1967. His name and cchard69 address was posted in one of their newsletters from Summer 2006, but mentioned the email had bounced back probably due to the fact he was in jail at the time. There is also an unofficial memorial page for Chuck where employees have written about their memories of him.
* "Handjobs" was an illustrated monthly collection of stories in magazine format, and ceased publication in 2014. The magazines depicted many sexual scenarios that included father/son, younger/older, and doctor/patient relationships, just to name a few.
* Perverted Justice made a new category called "Other Resolutions" in order to show his chatlog because he died before he could be convicted. The same was done for Louis Conradt and Ernest Timmons, but not for any other predator that died before conviction.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57658827/charles-carlton-harding#view-photo=214325879
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://www.perverted-justice.com/?otherres=Hardchuck1
3. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57658827/charles-carlton-harding#view-photo=214325879
4. ↑ https://www.weremember.com/charles-harding/5v0v/memories
5. ↑ http://fal-1.tripod.com/FL\_News2006-24Summer.pdf
6. ↑ https://denfl1.tripod.com/Chuck\_Harding.html
7. ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Books-Handjobs/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp\_27%3AHandjobs