A Vermont corrections officer has been suspended following his arrest on charges of assaulting a woman and keeping her from calling for help.
Michael Baker, 33, of Barnet pleaded not guilty Tuesday during a hearing in Caledonia County Superior criminal court in St. Johnsbury to aggravated sexual assault, first-degree aggravated domestic assault and interference with access to emergency services.
Judge Justin Jiron ordered Baker held without bail.
Baker, a corrections officer at Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury since November 2021, has been placed on paid administrative leave, Vermont Corrections Commissioner Nicholas Deml said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“Mr. Baker’s alleged actions run directly counter to the Department’s values and mission,” Deml said in the statement.
Baker was arrested after police were called Monday afternoon to his home in Barnet for a report that a woman was being assaulted, according to an affidavit that Vermont State Police Trooper Tyler Davidson filed with the court.
Baker did not allow the trooper into the home, instead refusing several orders to open the door and eventually fleeing into a back bedroom where he was taken into custody, according to the affidavit.
An investigation revealed that Baker had physically and sexually assaulted a woman at the home and prevented her from calling police, the trooper wrote. The woman told Davidson that, when she told Baker she intended to call police, he took her phone and hid it.
The woman, who was in a relationship with Baker, reported that he had repeatedly sexually assaulted her, the affidavit stated. After work, Baker often stopped for drinks, and would arrive at the home intoxicated and sexually assault her, the trooper wrote.
Baker was listed late Tuesday afternoon as incarcerated at the Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport.
Baker faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges against him.
Deml, the correction commissioner, said in a statement that the corrections department is conducting its own investigation into the matter. He added that the charges “do not appear related to any facility or individual in the care and custody of the Department.”
