Williston Observer

Dec. 24, 2008

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

In another twist in the Mark Hulett sex abuse case that shook Williston and Vermont more than two years ago, the mother of Hulett’s young victim was charged Thursday with cruelty to a child.

The mother pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday at the Vermont District Courthouse in Burlington and was released.

According to a state police affidavit, the 33-year-old mother of the victim knew and was witness to the abuse, which started in 2001 when the victim was 6 years old. The girl is now 13 and living with an adoptive family. The Observer is not releasing the mother’s name to protect the identity of her daughter.

If convicted, the mother could face a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of $500.

“We’re going to prosecute this,” said Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan. “We think it’s a very serious crime.”

Hulett, a friend of the mother who used to stay at the woman’s house a few nights a week, pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault in 2005 after years of abusing the girl. In a case that made national headlines, Hulett was originally sentenced to only 60 days in prison. After a large public outcry and a change in sex offender treatment programs in prisons, Hulett was resentenced to three years. He is due for release on Jan. 2.

The new charges came to light after the daughter told her therapist over the summer that her mother knew and saw Hulett sexually abusing her. According to police, the daughter told her therapist about her mother’s actions after reading a letter written from the woman. In the letter, the mother stated if she had known the abuse was going on, she would have stopped it.

“She knew you know,” the daughter told the therapist, according to the police report.

Under a Vermont law that requires anyone in a medical, public safety or mental health field to report any suspicion of child abuse, the therapist had to report the information to police.

According to the affidavit, the mother entered her daughter’s room one evening and witnessed Hulett performing a sex act on the girl. The mother left medicine for her daughter and left the room without saying anything. The girl’s stepfather was at the house at the time, as were a friend of the mother’s and the friend’s daughter.

The mother admitted to investigators last month to witnessing a possible sex act during the incident her daughter recalled, and didn’t stop Hulett or ask him to leave the room, according to the report. The daughter said her mother witnessed Hulett sexually abuse her a total of six times, even after an initial police investigation in 2003, the report said. Charges were not filed against Hulett until 2005.

The daughter’s stepfather also told police he had seen Hulett in the girl’s bedroom while possibly performing a sex act on the child on a separate occasion, and did not say anything to Hulett, but rather told his wife. The stepfather has not been charged in the case and most likely won’t be due to the state’s concerns about the man’s mental aptitude, Donovan said.

Donovan said he did not know why the mother was not originally charged with child cruelty and endangerment two years ago, when it was revealed in the Hulett investigation that she and her husband knew Hulett slept in her daughter’s room. Donovan was not the state’s attorney at the time of the case.

The woman denied knowing the abuse was taking place at the time of Hulett’s trial. Donovan said she continues to deny any knowledge even though she “made an admission” to investigators last month to seeing something suspect going on. Donovan said she rejected a plea deal he offered before charges were filed.

The original prosecutor in the Hulett case, former Chittenden County state’s attorney Nicole Andreson, who now works for a private law firm in Burlington, did not immediately return messages left by the Observer seeking comment on the charges.

The Observer was also unable to contact the mother before press deadline. A listed phone number for the woman was out of service, and a phone number in court documents was found to be incorrect. She had not responded to a note left at her house prior to press deadline.

Donovan said a status conference for the case is scheduled for the middle of next month.

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Employees figure out how to divide $20,000

Dec. 24, 2008

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

What to do with $20,000?

That was the tough question employees of Hampton Direct Inc. had to answer last Friday during an unconventional holiday bonus giveaway. And true to the spirit of the company’s employees, it took only a few short minutes to figure out an equal and creative way to distribute the money.

Steve Heroux, the company’s president, handed out stacks of $10 bills as many employees laughed at what was about to take place. Others didn’t know how to react at first.

“I was totally shocked,” said Sherrie Lucia after all was said and done. “I thought he was joking.”

Employee Al Diem also thought the joke was on him and his coworkers.

“I thought it was Monopoly money,” Diem said.

This is the first time Hampton Direct has had such an unusual way of delivering holiday bonuses, Heroux said. A similar tactic was used at a company he worked for in Connecticut in the early 1990s.

“It used to get everybody excited,” Heroux said. “I knew that it would work here.”

Hampton Direct, an international distribution company that employs 33 people, ships hundreds of household products sold on the QVC network and on direct response television infomercials. The company also sells to specialty stores, with the Vermont Country Store in Weston being its only in-state customer.

Holiday bonus

After learning they had one hour to decide who would receive what amount of bonus money, the employees squeezed into a conference room to hammer out the details. Envelopes with employees’ names on them were taped to the window of the room as snow fell outside. All management had left the room to avoid swaying decisions. That left 25 non-managerial employees to make the crucial decisions.

The ground rules were simple: everyone had to participate, everyone had to agree on the final choice and everyone had to get some amount of money in their envelopes. Also, the company’s accountants had to know each employee’s final amount at the end of the process for tax purposes.

Within minutes, employee Jolene Ciosek had figured out each person would get $606 dollars if split evenly. Since the denominations were $10 bills, it was quickly decided to give each employee $600.

“We’re all part of the same team,” Ciosek said. “We all contribute.”

Diem wondered if everyone thought it was a good idea to split the money equally, since some employees only recently started working at Hampton Direct. Diem, for instance, had started at the company only two weeks prior. But no one seemed perturbed by the original decision and only seemed more enforced by the team camaraderie.

“The people that have been here less than six months can pay our taxes!” Ciosek joked.

Another easy and quick decision was what to do with the leftover cash. Employees opted to give the remaining $200 to the Williston Community Food Shelf as a charitable contribution.

The fun part came as employees grabbed the stacks of $10 bills, counting out the fresh money.

For employee Lisa Sherman, the bonus came at a great time. Sherman joined the company in October after losing a marketing job earlier in the year. She said she feels very much at home at her new job.

“I’m really blessed,” Sherman said. “It’s a wonderful group here.”

Employee Janet Pendris also praised the company and its president, Heroux, especially in his choice of the interesting bonus system.

“He’s made it more fun,” Pendris said.

Heroux said he wasn’t surprised by the end result and was especially proud of the fact some of the money was donated to the food shelf.

“We’re a good team here, and that’s how a team would react,” Heroux said.

Heroux said there was less money in the bonus pool this year because of the slow economy, but he believed Hampton Direct would be successful in the new year.

The company has grown so fast in recent years that it’s outgrowing its space on Pioneer Drive. Heroux said he plans to move Hampton Direct to the former KBA building on Hurricane Lane sometime in the spring.

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Dec. 18, 2008

All-Division 3 honors went to eight members of this fall’s Champlain Valley Union High football team, divided between the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

In addition, offensive lineman Matt Gault was named to the Burlington Free Press All-State second team, while running back Tommy Powers earned All-State honorable mention.

Gault, a senior, was placed on the coaches’ All-Division 3 first team. Powers, wide receiver Michael Bonfigli and place kicker Andrew Lieberman were named to the second team. All are seniors.

From the defense, junior Matt Long was named to the All-Division 3 second team by coaches. Honorable mentions went to sophomore defensive back Konnor Fleming, senior linebacker Josh Duncan and senior lineman Tyler Hulbert.

— Mal Boright, Observer correspondent

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Dec. 18, 2008

After Wednesday’s contest against Burlington High, the Champlain Valley Union High girls hockey team will embark Saturday on a trip to St. Albans for the first meeting of the young season with Bellows Free Academy. BFA St. Albans took a 4-1 record out of last weekend’s action.

CVU’s Wednesday game was set to be played after press deadline.

The 1-3 Redhawks are hoping to reduce the penalties after trips to the cooler Saturday proved costly in a narrow 3-2 loss to Essex High in the Hornets’ arena.

Three power play goals by Essex erased a 1-0 CVU lead. Maggie Ryan scored her second tally of the day to get CVU close. The Redhawks’ goalie, Nicole Bonneau, came up with 33 stops, while CVU fired 15 shots on the Essex net.

Last Wednesday, coach Tom Ryan’s team unloaded an 11-0 trouncing on Rice Memorial High. Molly Howard and Lizzy Betz knocked in two scores each to lead the onslaught.

— Mal Boright, Observer correspondent

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Dec. 18, 2008

The unbeaten-in-the-U.S. Champlain Valley Union High boys hockey team had business on Wednesday against South Burlington High before setting its sights on the first meeting of the year with the Essex High Hornets, the team that nudged the Redhawks in the Division 1 championship match last March.

The two teams will meet on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in Essex.

The Hornets came out of last weekend’s play with a 1-1 record after a 5-1 victory Saturday over Colchester High.

CVU is 3-1 against all comers, after losing 3-2 on Saturday to Lower Canada College in Montreal, where LCC is the reigning city champion.

Ben Soll and Brady DeHayes had the Redhawks’ goals as they out-shot the Canadians, 35-17. Mark Albertson, Miles Grunvald and Chris McGinnis shared the CVU net minding duties.

Last Wednesday, Nate LaCroix proved to be great late by popping in his first two scores of the season with less than five minutes left in regulation to snap a 2-2 tie and give the Hawks a 4-2 win over Burlington High. DeHayes and Eric Robinson also potted CVU tallies.

Albertson made 17 saves between the pipes.

— Mal Boright, Observer correspondent

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