[B]URLINGTON – A Northfield Selectboard member, who has worked as a deputy sheriff and EMT in Washington County, has reached a plea deal over charges of solicitation of prostitution that could keep him from serving any time behind bars.
Lynn Doney, 57, will have to take part in counseling, complete 100 hours of community service, and take part in the community reparative board process, according to prosecutors.
He remains a selectboard member in Northfield, but resigned his position at the Washington County Sheriff’s Department shortly after he was charged, according to Sheriff Samuel Hill. Doney’s status as an EMT in Barre Town is unclear.
Doney pleaded guilty this month to a misdemeanor charge of committing a prohibited act by soliciting prostitution on May 11 in Shelburne, court records state.
He received a 12-month deferred sentence and was placed on probation, according to court records.
If he abides by his probation and stays out of legal trouble for a year, the charge will be cleared from his record. If any violation occurs, he faces the possibility of serving that time in jail.
A felony charge of obstruction of justice was dismissed as part of the plea deal. That felony carried a maximum possible penalty of five years in prison.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George said Tuesday the plea agreement takes into account Doney’s lack of a previous criminal record and his acceptance of responsibility early in the case.
Also, George said, the man that Doney was accused of soliciting failed to show up for two depositions that had been set.
Superior Court Judge Nancy Waples approved the plea deal.
Attorney Stephen Craddock of Berlin, representing Doney, said Tuesday that he believed the agreement “seemed to be, under the circumstances, the appropriate resolution of this case.”
Craddock said the filing of such a charge regarding soliciting prostitution in Vermont is rare, adding that he believed authorities were holding his client to higher standard than others due to his “limited” role as a law enforcement officer.
“With a deferred sentence, after a year it goes away as if it never happened,” Craddock said of the charge Doney pleaded guilty to.
“Obviously, the choice was made to go that route rather than fight because that would just keep it in the news, drag it on,” the defense attorney added. “Although, I think we had a good chance of winning.”
Craddock said Doney denied paying the man for sex. “What he did was provide him with some rent money,” the attorney said.
Police say the investigation started when a manager at Harbor Place in Shelburne reported “suspicious activity” to the Shelburne Police Department. Harbor Place is a facility that provides temporary emergency shelter and services to those in need.
A man who was staying there told authorities that he had sex with Doney in exchange for money, and the man agreed to cooperate with police and set up another meeting with Doney, court records stated.
That meeting was set for May 11. According to court records, Doney went to the man’s room and took off his shoes, the man left the room, then police officers walked in. Police said Doney had the $32 that he had earlier agreed to pay the man.
According to court records, Doney admitted to having sex several times with the 28-year-old man he said he knew who was staying at the motel.
Doney denied paying the man for sex; instead he said he had paid a total of about $150 to the man over the years thinking he was providing him financial assistance to help the man pay his rent and other expenses, court records stated.
When told he was being arrested, Doney told police his life was ruined, adding, “Everything’s gone, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
When the officer told him he could contest the charge in court, Doney responded, “What’s there to argue. There’s nothing to argue.”
He then added, according to court records, “I thought I was helping him out, I didn’t realize, I didn’t put two and two together, I should have probably, but I didn’t and now everything is ruined, my whole job, my whole life is ruined.”
Doney had known the man for several years, initially meeting through the Barre town ambulance service, where Doney had worked, and later through an advertisement on Craigslist, according to court records.
The obstruction of justice charge stemmed from police alleging that Doney knew that a warrant had been issued for the man stemming from a drunken driving offense, but he didn’t arrest him.
Following his own arrest in May, Doney was placed on leave from his job where he worked full time with the Barre Town Emergency Medical Services Department. He had also been a per diem police officer for the town. A town official said they weren’t going to have him work in that role while the case was pending.
Doney had been placed on leave from that sheriff’s department job following his arrest, and resigned about 3 weeks after being charged, according to Hill. He had worked in the department providing traffic control and court security.
Officials with Barre Town could not immediately be reached Tuesday for comment on Doney’s status.
