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Man charged with sex assault
Rutland Herald | January 17, 2017
By ERIC FRANCIS
CORRESPONDENT
SPRINGFIELD
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A registered sex offender was ordered held without bail after police said a family friend reported he had molested her twice while she was sleeping.
Stanley Whittaker, 62, of Springfield, pleaded not guilty in White River junction criminal court to felony counts of nonconsensual sexual assault and lewd and lascivious conduct, charges which together carry the potential of three years to life in prison.
During Friday’s arraignment, Deputy State’s Attorney Heidi Remick said the new allegations are similar to Whittaker’s prohibitedacts conviction in 2009, when a different woman came forward and reported Whittaker had fondled her in her sleep.
Springfield Police Officer Anthony Moriglioni wrote in an affidavit the new allegations stem from a pair of incidents in December when Whittaker was staying with a female friend in Springfield who was experiencing medical difficulties and needed some help around her house.
The woman told investigators that initially Whittaker slept on her couch at night, but she allowed him to join her on her larger bed because the couch was giving him back pain. She told police she awoke to find herself being molested and “immediately asked what he was doing and said to stop (at which point) Stanley got up and went to the couch,” the affidavit said.
The woman said she decided to contact authorities when the same thing happened again two weeks later, Moriglioni wrote. He added that Whittaker initially denied anything improper had happened, then gave a detailed account that corre- sponded closely to the woman’s complaint.
In court Friday, Remick noted that Whittaker’s criminal record included a 1998 conviction for lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.
Whittaker moved from Boston to Springfield almost 15 years ago. His brushes with the law include convictions for stealing, forging and cashing an elderly neighbor’s Social Security check in order to buy crack cocaine; leaving the scene of an accident; and possession of stolen property, according to court records.
After checking the State of Vermont's Sexual Offender Registry, 32 offenders are registered for Springfield and North Springfield, and NO Stanley Whittaker. Of the 32 registered, 9 are non-compliant. 3 of the 9 non-compliant are considered to be high risk. Whittaker needs to be locked up for the remainder of his natural life, seeing how he's been a habitual offender, stealing, forging, drugs, sex crimes, crimes against the elderly. When are we going to get the scum like him off the streets. Great job SPD, now we need the legal system to step up and do their job!
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