A Montpelier man allegedly tried to lure a minor he supervised while working at the Hunger Mountain Co-op and sent her lewd photos, according to court documents.
Police investigating the case said there were as many as a half-dozen reports of similar conduct between the suspect and young female employees at the store.
Reis Winkeljohn, 27, was arraigned last week in Washington County Superior criminal court in Barre and denied the charges, according to a report by the Barre Montpelier Times Argus. Winkeljohn faces a felony charge of sexual exploitation/attempted luring of a child and misdemeanor charges of sending indecent material to a minor and disturbing the peace by phone.
A police affidavit detailed that there were six previous complaints brought to the co-op’s management by young female employees, all involving Winkeljohn’s alleged behavior. Co-op management later said the six complaints were “unfounded” and four of the employees who brought the complaints quit, according to the affidavit written by Sgt. Diane Mathews of the Montpelier Police Department.
Mathews wrote in the affidavit that Winkeljohn was a supervisor of a 15-year-old employee and was responsible for her training. He contacted the girl on Snapchat and sent explicit messages and eventually photos of himself, Mathews wrote.
Police also allege that Winkeljohn used the minor’s employment status to leverage her into sending photos.
“If you don’t send its (sic) going to make things at work awkward and I don’t know how long you will keep your job,” the affidavit quotes Winkeljohn as saying. He also allegedly instructed the girl not to say anything about the interactions or she would lose her job.
Mathews said that a few days after the initial interaction with Winkeljohn, which took place in April, the 15-year-old employee reported the incident to Hunger Mountain’s human resources department. She told police that human resources initially requested that she attend a meeting without her parents, but that she attended the meeting with a parent. During the meeting, she was told not to talk about the case with friends or on social media, according to the affidavit.
Winkeljohn was interviewed by Mathews and admitted to adding his Snapchat information to the girl’s phone, according to the affidavit. He also admitted to sending an explicit photo to her, which he claimed was sent by accident, Mathews wrote.
According to the affidavit, other complaints against Winkeljohn at Hunger Mountain Co-op had revealed a “pattern of behavior with female co-workers.” Between May 28 and June 17 of this year, six complaints were made to human resources by females ranging from 16 to 22 years old. One complaint was made by a parent of a 17-year-old who was concerned by her daughter working with Winkeljohn, according to the affidavit.
“I learned that at least four of the six females quit working for the Co-op because their claims were said to be unfounded, as documented in letters the Co-op addressed to all six complainants, all dated July 12,” Mathews wrote.
Mathews also reported that on May 9, a former co-op employee gave a statement at the Montpelier Police Department stating that Winkeljohn sent sexually explicit messages to her while they worked together. The employee was 16 years old at the time. She reported the behavior to human resources, but nothing was done and she quit, according to the affidavit.
A phone number listed for Winkeljohn was not in service on Friday.
Reached by email on Friday, a spokesperson for the Hunger Mountain Co-op, Stephani Kononan, said General Manager Kari Bradley was away.
In a short statement, Kononan acknowledged that a “former employee was recently arraigned for alleged criminal behavior while working at” the co-op.
“Because these events happened involving Co-op employees and there is pending litigation, we can not offer any details,” she wrote.
The union representing co-op employees, UE Local 255, sent a message to its members on Friday that was shared with VTDigger.
“The alleged behavior of this former employee goes against everything we stand for as a union,” the email from union leadership stated.
One co-op employee reacted on Front Porch Forum this week, calling it a “failure” on the part of management.
“I am embarrassed and ashamed to learn from other co-workers that this has been going on for a long time,” wrote Vicki Mazur. “HR failed these girls and their families. The reputation out there that the co-op is not a place you want your kids (or even your friends) to work will reverberate until someone, somewhere clean(s) house.”
Thomas Gram, who identified himself as a co-op member-owner, posted to the forum about the allegations earlier this week under the headline “Hunger Mountain Co-op Needs Real Reform,” saying he plans to organize a meeting of co-op members and customers.
In an interview on Friday, Gram said the number of claims against Winkeljohn was “disturbing.”
“I think it kind of shows there’s some pattern in some part of HR or management that does not reflect the values of most of the members,” Gram said.
