No time behind bars. $100 fine.
A former deputy with the Caledonia County Sheriff’s Department has been permanently banned from working in law enforcement in Vermont, nearly two years after he pleaded guilty to charges related to soliciting sex and nude photos from women he encountered while on duty.
Bunnell pleaded guilty in March 2022 in Caledonia County Superior criminal court in St. Johnsbury to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct by phone and prohibited conduct.
The plea deal called for a $100 fine on the disorderly conduct charge and a two-year deferred sentence on the prohibited conduct charge.
The prohibited conduct charge stated that Bunnell offered money to a woman in exchange for nude photos. The disorderly charge stated that Bunnell repeatedly contacted a different woman “to harass” her into providing him with nude photos.
As part of the plea agreement, two other charges of committing prohibited acts were dismissed.
It was a plea agreement so don’t forget to lump the prosecutor in with the judge.
Yeah, and I’ve gotta wonder if the women this pathetic loser was preying on got any say on the deal and on the faux-punishment that was handed out? If I was a victim and the AG came to me and said “hey we can skip the trial, the dirtbag will get a slap on the wrist, but he’ll never work as a cop around here again, whatddya say?” I imagine I’d say “duck no, I want to see this bastard do time and pay six-figure restitution, preferably to us victims”.