Nurse accused of having sexual relationship with inmate

The Vermont State Police have charged a Springfield nurse with sexual exploitation of an inmate following an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct at a local correctional facility.


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2016-06-14 / Local Springfield nurse charged with sexual misconduct with inmate Rebecca Parker — COURTESY OF SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT Rebecca Parker — COURTESY OF SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT SPRINGFIELD — The Vermont State Police have charged a Springfield nurse with sexual exploitation of an inmate following an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct at a local correctional facility. The Vermont Department of Corrections (VDOC) contacted Vermont State Police on Feb. 9 regarding a report of sexual misconduct between a staff member and an inmate at Southern State Correctional Facility at 700 Charlestown Road in Springfield. VDOC reported that a contracted dialysis nurse, identified as Rebecca Parker, 39, of Springfield, had been “involved in a sexual relationship” with a 31-year-old male inmate, according to a press release from the Vermont Department of Public Safety. Victims of sexual exploitation are not identified due to the sensitive nature of the investigation. The male inmate was housed at the Southern State Correctional Facility at the time of the alleged sexual exploitation, according to police. During the investigation and with cooperation with the VDOC, Vermont State Police seized “a large amount of emails and recorded phone calls” exchanged between Parker and the inmate, according to police. Detective Sgt. Tyson Kinney with the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation was the investigating officer. On June 1, the Vermont State Police issued Parker a citation and ordered her to abide by conditions of release. She is scheduled to appear at 8 a.m. Tuesday, July 12 in Vermont Superior Court - Windsor Criminal Division to answer the charge. Published June 14, 2016 in the Rutland Herald Math teacher accused of sexually assaulting student By Patrick McArdle BENNINGTON — A former teacher at the Bennington School, a private school for troubled teenagers, is being held without bail after being accused of having an ongoing, non-consensual sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. Morris David Nelson, 54, of Bennington, pleaded innocent Friday in Rutland criminal court to one felony count each of repeated aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault on a person younger than 18 who was entrusted to the accused’s care and sexual exploitation of a minor. The repeated sexual assault charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and the charge of sexual assault of someone entrusted to another’s care carries a mandatory minimum penalty of three years. Both charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. Sexual exploitation of a minor is punishable by up to five years in prison. In an affidavit, Detective Anthony Silvestro, of the Bennington Police Department, said the girl who accused Nelson first spoke to police in May but declined to follow through. The girl spoke to police again on June 5. She said Nelson, who Silvestro said goes by David Nelson, had sexually assaulted her, and she was afraid of him. Silvestro interviewed the girl on June 6. The girl said she attended the school, which now goes by the name the Bennington Girls School, for 14 months. The girl said she met Nelson there when he was a math teacher. She told Silvestro “they built what she thought was a good friendship.” However, the girl said Nelson took her to a Mötley Crüe concert in New Hampshire in October, when she was 17, but they weren’t allowed to go inside because they had been drinking alcohol. She said Nelson took her to a hotel and sexually assaulted her. According to the girl, she had no home where she could stay, and a court allowed Nelson to provide her with a place to live. She said while staying with Nelson, he continued to sexually abuse her although she said she told him she didn’t want to have sexual contact with him. “(The girl) said Nelson did not care. It came to the point, it was easier to just not say anything. (The girl) stated she felt trapped, as if she did not have a choice. (The girl) said as time went by, Nelson began to become more controlling and possessive. He was mentally, emotionally and physically abusive,” Silvestro said. The girl said there were incidents when she would be in Nelson’s truck. She said he would touch her, and she would tell him to stop. She said she had “never seen anyone go from being so nice to someone with such hatred in his eyes.” When Silvestro asked her to describe incidents that she knew took place in Vermont, the girl said she stayed at Nelson’s home during the holidays. She said his wife was away, and he sexually assaulted her repeatedly. “(The girl) stated it felt like she was selling her soul for a place to stay,” Silvestro said. The girl described other alleged incidents at Nelson’s home and in a shed at his home. She said their relationship had become even more difficult recently because he was “extremely jealous” since she started working. Silvestro said the girl told him why she didn’t give police more information when they talked to her in May. “(The girl) said she was scared, hopeless and that nothing was going to come of it. (The girl) stated she hated herself, she felt so gross and dirty,” Silvestro said. In the affidavit, Silvestro said officials at the Bennington School told him on June 9 that Nelson worked at the school as a teacher from Jan. 1, 2013, to Dec. 26, 2014, and again from March 30, 2015, to Nov. 19, 2015. Silvestro said he got a warrant on June 9 to search Nelson’s home. He said the warrant was executed but didn’t provide any information in the affidavit about what was found. There was also no information in the affidavit about whether Nelson was interviewed by police. In April, a former residential counselor at the school, Jacob Dunican, 27, of Bennington, pleaded innocent to one felony count each of sexual assault on a person younger than 18 entrusted to his care, sexual exploitation of a minor and lewd and lascivious conduct.