The departure of Bennington County's only certified sexual assault nurse examiner has local health officials and victims’ advocates scrambling to continue the essential service. Laurie Ann Speanburg, the only area nurse with specialized training in performing forensic exams on assault victims, accepted a position in New York in January, said Lori Vadakin, clinical director at the Bennington County Child Advocacy Center. Now, Dr. Avery Wood, a North Bennington-based family physician, is the sole provider of forensic exams that often help bring cases to adjudication, Vadakin said. But an area the size of Bennington County should have about five trained nurses because of the unique demands of the job, according to Vadakin.

March in Vermont is traditionally mud season, cold winds, waning cabin-fever, Saint Patrick’s and Town Meeting Days. In Brattleboro, it has also come to mean the Women’s Film Festival, when this Southern Vermont town hosts a premier event showcasing films made by women about women. Proceeds from ticket sales go to the Women’s Crisis Center, which helps women and children affected by domestic or other sexual abuse. Starting with a special benefit screening of Academy Award-nominated "Precious" on March 5 at the Latchis Theater, then continuing on March 12 and running for 10 days, through March 21, Brattleboro becomes headquarters for the finest in cutting-edge, innovative, and informative film-making.

For many years starting in 1993, Coralyn Guidry was a regular fixture outside the Diocese's headquarters on North Avenue in Burlington. In the 1960s, Guidry and five of her siblings lived in what was then the St. Joseph's orphanage. There, she claims, she and her siblings were subjected to repeated physical and sexual abuse by their purported caregivers. In light of this week's news that the Catholic Diocese of Burlington is preparing to sell the building to settle its financial debts to numerous victims of priest sex abuse, Guidry is hoping to pull together a group of investors willing to buy that building and put it to good use. Exactly what that "good use" would be, Guidry can't say for sure, though she hopes it would take the form of a school or family center for children and adults who've experienced abuse and neglect.
 

Domestic violence fuels most of Vermont’s homicides and generates some startling statistics, but it was a picture — not a number — that inspired Chris Bohjalian to craft a novel around the theme of spousal abuse. The picture was captured in a Polaroid photo that a victim’s rights advocate showed Bohjalian as he researched his sixth book, back in 1997. He held off using the image in that book, but he couldn’t forget it, and a dozen years later it found its way into his 12th novel, “Secrets of Eden,” a tale of battering and its consequences that goes on sale Tuesday.

Project Against Violent Encounters (PAVE) is planning and accepting requests for applications for its February 2010 volunteer advocacy training. Advocates will learn about domestic and sexual violence issues, Family Court and law enforcement procedures with respect to protection orders, and available community resources. Advocates will gain experience through the practice of role-play.

Addison Independent reports on a current shortage of guardians at litem (GALs) in Addison County - individuals who are "charged with advocating on behalf of the best interests of children alleged to have been abused, neglected, or are beyond the control of their parents, or who may be involved in divorce proceedings. The guardians’ duties include making sure affected children and their families receive appropriate services in a timely manner; that their case plans and court decisions are based on the child’s best interests; and that every child has a safe, stable, and permanent home within a reasonable period of time." There are currently only "four active GALs in Addison County handling a combined total of approximately 50 cases."

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The Burlington Free Press reports that South Hero's Vermont Brownie Company plans to donate 10 percent of their Valentine's Day Box brownies sales to Women Helping Battered Women (WHBW). The Company decided to support WBHW this February because they "love[d] the idea of supporting and promoting healthy relationships." Co-owners Shawna Lidsky and Katherine Hayward added, "WHBW is a terrific organization that works tirelessly to end domestic violence against women and children in Chittenden County... [They] support women and children, the heart of our community."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that a new bill that would create a new crime category -- aggravated sexual assault on a minor -- has won unanimous preliminary approval in the state Senate. The crime would carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years. The legislation was was "drafted in memory of Brooke Bennett, [a] 12-year-old Braintree girl who died last year. Brooke's uncle, Michael Jacques, has been charged with her death and is awaiting trial." Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Richard Sears commented, "No single piece of legislation is going to stop family violence. But I think that this bill, the comprehensive nature of it, will result in better outcomes for Vermont kids. That's what's really important. The Brooke Bennett tragedy taught us a lot and I think that when this bill becomes law, the way Vermont deals with crimes of child sexual abuse will be different." A final vote from the state Senate is pending.

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Vermont Public Radio reports that Chuck Laramie, an English and history teacher at the the Park Street Program, a Rutland alternative school for juvenile sex offenders, "was removed from his job in September, just weeks after testifying to a legislative committee about the likelihood that offenders will commit new crimes." An official with the Howard Center official said that "Laramie's positions were 'very much interfering' with the mission of the Park Street Program." Notably, "Laramie was placed on leave September 19, two days after the program got a letter from its funding source, the Burlington-based Howard Center, saying he should be dismissed." In response, some Vermont lawmakers have expressed "concern that the treatment of Laramie will place a chilling effect on the willingness of others to testify to legislative committees."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that Vermont "could lose up to $35,000 in federal funding if it doesn't expand its online sex offender registry" under the 2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act which "seeks to unify Internet registry standards across all 50 states." Currently, "Vermont reserves its Internet registry for the more serious sex offenders," but "the Adam Walsh Act would require all of the state's 2,400 offenders to be listed online." This would mean adding about 2,000 names to Vermont's list. According to state officials, that "change could cost up to $3 million in additional legal fees" because an expanded registry could make offenders "less likely to reach plea deals, driving up legal fees."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that the U.S. Supreme Court will "hear a Vermont prosecutor's appeal in the case of a domestic assault suspect whose conviction was thrown out because it took a court three years to hear his case." Indeed, "the high court will hear oral arguments in State v. Brillon, which stemmed from the 2004 trial of Michael Brillon." Brillon "was sentenced to 12 to 20 years in prison. In March, the Vermont Supreme Court overturned his conviction, saying his public defenders failed to get him a speedy trial." Because "the state court refused to reconsider the decision.,"the "Bennington County's prosecutor appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the delays were caused by Brillon and his lawyer."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that Bennington Senator Dick Sears, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, "says the panel is likely to recommend lengthy mandatory minimum sentences for egregious sex crimes." Sears is "directing the committee's review of the criminal justice system following the kidnapping and murder this summer of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett." Sears said the committee would like to "give prosecutors the authority to seek tougher sentences"; "strengthen the ability of probation and parole officers to monitor sex offenders"; and "recommend changes to the state's sexual assault prevention programs." The committee "will meet a few more times this fall, and will begin drafting formal recommendations for lawmakers to consider when they return in January."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that "Vermont Corrections Commissioner Rob Hofmann says the state has grown tougher and smarter in the last quarter century in dealing with sex offenders. Hofmann's comments followed the testimony of Calbraith MacLeod, "an inmate at the state prison in St. Albans, who told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that he committed two serious assaults while he was on parole for an earlier offense in the 1980s." According to MacLeod, "The assaults most likely would not have happened if he had been under closer supervision by his parole officer." In response, Hofmann noted that "the state has added scores of community correctional officers to keep tabs on offenders since the 1980s."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that the Vermont Criminal Information Center says that "crime was down 3% in Vermont last year." This finding "reverses a trend from 2006, when the crime rate rose significantly." the 2007 numbers are still higher than 2005's. "One category of crimes did rise over the past year. There were 963 cases of domestic violence in 2007. That was an increase of seven percent from the year before. Another area that caught researchers' attention was the amount of losses from property crime. Losses totaled $23 million, a 7% rise." According to the Criminal Information Center, these loses "can be explained in part by several large crimes, including fraud."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that "Rockingham may become the third community in Vermont to restrict where sex offenders live." Recently the Rockingham Selectboard "adopted a draft ordinance that would make certain areas of town off-limits to sex offenders." Indeed, "sex offenders would be prohibited from living within one-thousand feet of a school, recreation facility or licensed day care center, and would be banned from visiting those facilities." Similar ordinances were  passed in Rutland and Barre this year.

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