Joseph Grossman Case: Charges, Plea Deal, and Sentence

Joseph Grossman, the owner of the Poppy’s Peanuts candy shop inside the Quakertown Farmers Market in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on May 14, 2026, to two misdemeanor counts of corruption of minors for conduct involving teenage employees, and was sentenced to seven years of probation with sex offender supervision.¹ The original felony charge of promoting the prostitution of a minor was withdrawn by prosecutors as part of the plea. Grossman, 36, of Warminster, received no jail time.²

What the Teen Employees Alleged

The Richland Township police investigation began in June 2025 after a 17-year-old employee told her mother about Grossman’s behavior at the shop.³ According to the criminal complaint, she said Grossman made inappropriate comments and touched her legs and back while she worked there. After she quit, he allegedly contacted her through social media and asked her to meet him at the store after hours, where he offered her $100, then $300, along with marijuana, to perform a sexual act.²

A second victim came forward after news coverage of the arrest. She alleged Grossman made vulgar sexual comments and grabbed her hips, back, and shoulders while she was employed at the shop, and that he provided her with an unidentified substance through a pipe that made her feel dizzy.⁴ Additional counts of corruption of minors were filed.⁵

Arrest and Initial Charges

Grossman was arrested on August 15, 2025, and charged with felony promoting the prostitution of a minor and corruption of minors. He was initially held at the Bucks County Correctional Center on $250,000 bail.⁶

The DA’s Appeal for More Victims

In October 2025, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office issued a public appeal for additional victims. District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said investigators believed more victims existed given the “similar accounts from two victims.” She described the employees as being in a vulnerable position. “They’re working in an environment where this person has absolute control over them, and there’s an embarrassment to report this behavior when they experience it,” Schorn said.⁷

Concerns Over His Return to the Shop

After Grossman was released on bail, his conditions prohibited contact with minors. Employees at the farmers market reported seeing him continuing to work at his candy shop. Schorn publicly noted that if Grossman was working at the market, a location frequented by children, it could constitute a violation of his bail terms. She called him “unrelenting in his pursuit of his victims.”⁴

The Plea Deal and Sentence

Rather than go to trial, Grossman entered a negotiated plea on May 14, 2026, to two misdemeanor counts of corruption of minors. His defense attorney, Thomas Joachim, characterized the counts as relating to “providing marijuana vape cartridges” to the victims. The felony charge of promoting the prostitution of a minor was dropped.¹

Joachim said Grossman “has remained steadfast that he never engaged in that behavior” related to the prostitution allegation and noted that “all charges related to that conduct were withdrawn by the District Attorney’s Office.”¹ Senior Common Pleas Judge Clyde Waite sentenced Grossman to seven years of probation with sex offender supervision, and imposed no jail time.²

How Pennsylvania Grades Corruption of Minors

Corruption of minors under 18 Pa.C.S. § 6301 covers conduct by someone 18 or older that corrupts or tends to corrupt the morals of a person under 18. The offense can be graded as a misdemeanor of the first degree in its standard form, or elevated to a third-degree felony when the conduct involves a course of sexual offenses. Grossman pleaded to the charge as a second-degree misdemeanor.⁸

1
NBC Philadelphia. PA Candy Shop Owner Pleads Guilty to Corruption of Minors
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Philly Burbs. Joseph Grossman Poppy’s Peanuts Quakertown Market Guilty Plea
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NBC Philadelphia. Bucks County Candy Shop Owner Charged With Sexual Misconduct
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6abc. Poppy’s Peanuts Shop Owner Joseph Grossman Charged With Corruption of Minors
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Bucks County. DA’s Office Seeks More Victims of Shop Owner Charged With Corrupting Minors
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Philly Burbs. Joseph Grossman Charged With Underage Solicitation at Poppy’s Peanuts
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Philadelphia Inquirer. Joseph Grossman Poppy’s Peanuts Arrest
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Pennsylvania General Assembly. 18 Pa.C.S. Chapter 63 – Corruption of Minors