Christopher Rich. Photo courtesy CUSI
The Vermont Department of Corrections employee who was arrested this week for sexual assault and procuring prostitution allegedly solicited and assaulted the victim after she had spent time incarcerated at the prison where he worked.
Christopher Rich, a correctional officer at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, is being charged with sexual assault, simple assault and procuring prostitution. He was arraigned Wednesday in Franklin County Criminal Court.
He faces three years to life on the sexual assault charge, and up to one year each on the assault and procuring prostitution charges. He also faces up to $26,100 in fines.
Rich pleaded not guilty, and was released on conditions after posting $25,000 bail. He is being represented by a public defender.
Rich had known the woman he allegedly assaulted in high school. The woman told police that she was aware Rich worked at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility because she ran into him while incarcerated there in recent years.
According to an affidavit compiled by Detective Cassandra Ellison of the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations, the woman told police of the assault after being arrested for a separate incident in New Hampshire.
“(Redacted) stated last Thursday she had just gotten out of rehab and had received a message on Facebook from a male she knew as Christopher Rich,” the affidavit says. “She told me Rich is a correctional officer at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility and she has known him for approximately 4-5 years.”
Rich told police that he had seen the woman while working at the prison, and at other jobs he had worked, including at a hospital and the Howard Center, a mental health services facility in Burlington.
Rich had worked as a correctional officer from January 2018 to the time of his arrest, according to a state human resources officer.
“Rich stated he also had professional interactions with (redacted) while she was at the correctional facility but they would not discuss their intimate life while there,” the affidavit states, adding that he did not tell colleagues about his relations with the woman.
The woman told police that Rich had solicited her services as a prostitute for the past four to five years. She said when she met Rich on Feb. 21, they began consensual kissing, but then he punched her in the face and she started crying.
The woman told police that she told Rich that she wanted to stop engaging in sexual activity. She said that she tried to move away from him, but he did not allow her to do so, and that he raped her.
Inside Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility. Photo by Cory Dawson/VTDigger
“She advised after approximately 10 minutes of struggling he told her, ‘okay this isn’t working, clearly.’ (Redacted) said he then allowed her to put her clothes on and paid her,” said the affidavit.
The alleged assault occurred at Rich’s girlfriend’s apartment on Northgate Road in Burlington, while she was away for day, according to the affidavit.
The woman told police that she suffers from a heroin addiction. She said she had met drug dealers who forced her to engage in sex for money, and that they would give her drugs in exchange for the money she made.
The woman provided police with Facebook messages allegedly showing herself and Rich discussing how much he would pay her and where they would meet on Feb. 21, the day of the alleged assault.
When confronted by police, Rich denied paying the woman for sex but said that he had “helped her out” each time they met for sex, according to the affidavit.
“Rich stated when he would see [redacted] he would give her money because he felt bad for her situation,” the affidavit states. “Rich said he knew [redacted] had kids and a drug habit.”
Rich said he was not aware that the woman was working for a pimp. He also denied punching her.
“Rich told me he did not understand where these allegations were coming from because he would never hit a woman nor would he do the things he was being accused of,” the affidavit states.
Catherine Russell, executive staff assistant at the Department of Human Resources, said Rich’s job as a corrections officer was his first time working in state government.
According to a job description online, correctional officers are responsible for receiving and controlling inmates, preventing escapes and enforcing prison rules.
A status conference in the case is scheduled for March 29 at Chittenden County Criminal Court.
Colin Meyn contributed reporting
Read the story on VTDigger here: Woman accusing prison guard of sexual assault had been an inmate.