BURLINGTON — A Vermont judge won’t grant extensions of a temporary extreme risk protection order or an emergency restraining order against Addison County Sheriff Peter Newton, who was arrested late last month on felony sexual assault charges.
The court orders were sought after Newton taped a long and sometimes rambling video on May 1, after VTDigger reported he was under investigation related to a “domestic disturbance.” The video was quickly taken down, but it prompted family and colleagues to question Newton’s mental stability and risk of harm.
Superior Court Judge Kirstin Schoonover issued the rulings Friday morning in both matters. The judge’s decisions led to the cancellation of a hearing set for later in the afternoon, which was to follow up on a proceeding that took place two weeks ago.
Several witnesses, including Newton’s adult daughter, his ex-wife and a deputy in the sheriff’s department, all testified at the first hearing. Both orders had previously been granted against Newton on a temporary basis when he was arrested on the criminal charges on June 28.
Newton had represented himself during those proceedings as he fought extensions on the two orders. The extreme risk protection order was sought by Washington County State’s Attorney Rory Thibault, the prosecutor in the criminal case against Newton. Newton’s ex-wife had petitioned for the abuse prevention order.
In denying the extreme risk protection order, Schoonover wrote, “the State has failed to establish clear and convincing evidence” that (Newton) presents an extreme risk of harm to others at the time of the hearing.
Newton, in the video, talked about having been suicidal and discussed past greivances with people. Yet while the video suggested risk of harm in the past, the judge said the question was whether Newton presented an extreme risk of harm to himself now.
“It is clear that all who know and care for Peter Newton observed a significant decline in his mental health that was evidenced in the video. They were justifiably concerned for his safety, and potentially the safety of others, given his rambling and troubled state,” the judge wrote.
“However, in order to issue a Final Extreme Risk Protection Order, this Court must find either that Respondent poses an extreme risk of causing harm to himself or another person by clear and convincing evidence. Neither the video evidence nor the testimony presented support such a finding.”
The judge appeared to use similar reasoning in rejecting the request by Newton’s ex-wife for a restraining order against him.
“Though Plaintiff testified that she has concerns for her safety due to the video and fears (Newton) based on this and other evidence she feels represents a decline in his mental health, the Court finds her testimony to reflect an unspecified subjective fear rather than an objective fear of imminent serious physical harm,” Schoonover wrote.
“Defendant has never physically harmed Plaintiff or threatened to do so,” the judge added. “He does not make any threat against her in the video, nor did she testify to him making any express or implied threats to her.”
The two orders, if granted, would have prevented Newton from possessing dangerous weapons and also prohibited him from contacting his ex-wife, who is not the woman he is charged with sexually assaulting.
Despite the judge denying the orders, Newton is still prohibited from possessing firearms.
Newton has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges against him following his arrest late last month in Middlebury and has been released on conditions, including that he not possess firearms or take part in law enforcement activities. Even with those conditions, Newton continues to serve as sheriff despite calls for his resignation, including from Gov. Phil Scott.
Both the extreme risk protection and restraining orders had previously been granted on a temporary basis pending the outcome of hearings on each. Schoonover’s ruling Friday vacated both of those temporary orders.
During the hearing that had been set for Friday afternoon in Chittenden County Superior family court in Burlington, Newton was expected to present several witnesses as part of his defense.
However, since Schoonover ruled that neither party seeking the orders against Newton had met their burdens after the close of testimony in their cases two weeks ago, the judge apparently decided she didn’t need to hear from those defense witnesses.
Newton could not be reached Friday for comment.
Thibault, the prosecutor, said Friday the decision regarding the extreme risk protection order appeared to revolve around the definition of what is an “extreme risk” and the context of the term “present.”
“I think the court’s decision really hinged on the fact that the evidence presented occurred in a time period between two and 14 months prior to the hearing,” he said, adding, “With that said, the impact of the decision is fairly limited considering the criminal court conditions of release continue to preclude possession of firearms.”
Attorney Cynthia Broadfoot, who represented Newton’s ex-wife, also could not be reached Friday for comment.
The judge wrote in the ruling Friday that there was one line from Newton in the video that caused her pause — “if I can get this out there’s nothing else they can hurt me with.”
That line from Newton, the judge wrote, “could be interpreted as an indication that (Newton) has cleared his name and revealed all his secrets, perhaps in an attempt to establish his version of the facts prior to ending his life.”
“The witnesses testifying certainly understood this and the other statements in the video to represent evidence that (Newton) was planning to end his life,” Schoonover wrote. “However, such supposition is far from clear and convincing evidence that (Newton) represents a present extreme risk of harm to himself.”
While the judge sided with Newton regarding the two court orders, he still faces up to life in prison if convicted of the criminal charges against him.
