Editor’s note: This story by Jordan Cuddemi was published by the Valley News on Dec. 11.
[W]HITE RIVER JUNCTION — Former South Royalton School Principal Dean Stearns pleaded guilty on Tuesday to surreptitiously recording five teenage girls during stays at his Sharon home in 2016 and 2017.
The 56-year-old Stearns hasn’t been sentenced, but attorneys during his change of plea hearing in Windsor Superior Court outlined the parameters of a plea deal.
The agreement calls for Stearns to serve up to five years of a 10- to 15-year prison sentence, according to Deputy Windsor County State’s Attorney Heidi Remick.
The portion of Stearns’ sentence he would actually serve is being contested. Defense attorney Michael Shane said Stearns could argue for a fully suspended prison sentence, which would see him serve no time in prison. A judge, who still has to sign off the plea agreement, will ultimately be the one to decide how much time Stearns will serve.
Stearns, who originally faced a total of 36 charges, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two felony counts of promoting a sexual recording or image and five misdemeanor counts of voyeurism.
All of other counts were dismissed, but that does not mean Stearns didn’t concede to the behavior alleged in those counts, Remick said.
“As part of the admission, Mr. Stearns admitted that he created multiple recordings and so even though charges are being dismissed, all of the conduct was admitted to as part of the plea agreement,” she said after the hearing.
Remick called the possibility that Stearns could serve up to five years in prison is “significant.”
“I hope that the message to the community is that the wheels of justice may move slowly but they do move steadily forward and the state took this conduct very seriously,” she said. “It understands that this is a devastating abuse of privacy and abuse of trust and that will be part of the state’s argument at sentencing, when we ask for a substantial period of time to serve as part of the resolution.”
Shane declined to comment.
Stearns didn’t speak in court other than to respond to questions from Judge Timothy Tomasi.
Stearns case started in November 2017 when one of the victims found a fake cellphone charger with a camera embedded in it in the bathroom she used while she was a guest in his house.
She alerted an adult, who in turn went to Vermont State Police and said she had reason to believe Stearns had secretly recorded the teenager, according to an affidavit in the case.
Upon further investigation, police found additional devices with photos and videos and identified four other victims ranging in age from 14 to 17. In all, police recovered 205 pictures and video files depicting partially or fully nude teenage girls as they changed, showered and used the bathroom in his home.
Two of the victims were under the age of 16 at the time when the incidents occurred, according to court documents. Those girls’ ages resulted in the two felony charges and convictions, Remick said.
Stearns told police in an interview that he bought the fake charger, as well as a fake alarm clock and night light — all of which had cameras embedded in them — online. He placed the devices in a bedroom and bathroom in October 2017, according to the affidavit.
One of the victims lived with Stearns and his wife in the fall of 2016 and another lived there for about four months in 2017. The three other victims were visitors to the Stearnses’ residence in 2017.
After the state brought the charges, law enforcement swept South Royalton School and reported they found no evidence of hidden cameras.
Stearns in October 2017 announced his intention to resign as principal at the end of the school year amid complaints from teachers about a “stressful workplace climate,” a decision that followed an approved merger between the Royalton and Bethel school districts. At the time, he cited “personal and professional reasons.”
However, he resigned effective immediately in early December, not long after the charges were made public.
Anticipating Stearns’ court hearing on Tuesday, Superintendent Bruce Labs issued a letter to the school community.
“We understand that the members of the White River Valley and the SU community remain very angry and emotional about this situation and the impact that it has had and continues to have on our students and their families,” he wrote. “I assure you that we have been preparing for this unfortunate event in the last few days and the impact it will once again bring to the community. I will be working with our administrators and school counselors to provide support to our students, faculty and staff.”
“We will continue to respond to the impact this case has on the victims of this terrible crime,” he continued.
Stearns will appear in court for a status conference in roughly 60 days. The date of that hearing wasn’t immediately available.
