A Burlington sex offender released in 2016 after 17 years in prison is back behind bars on charges of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child and violating the terms of his release on earlier child pornography charges.
Sean Guillette, 54, was arrested last week on allegations he inappropriately touched a 10-year-old girl at Hannaford’s Supermarket in the city’s New North End. He pleaded innocent and is being held at the Northwest State Correctional facility. A hearing is set for July.
After the incident, which occurred June 10, the girl described the perpetrator to police as being a white male, unshaven, with shorter dark hair. She also told officers that she believed the man had approached her earlier that week in front of her house.
Sean Guillete
Officers reviewed Hannaford’s security footage, but could not make out details of the suspect’s license plate, according to a press release from the Burlington Police Department. On Wednesday, the victim’s mother emailed the case officer saying she’d gone to an online database of registered sex offenders and identified a possible suspect.
Officers with the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigation decided Thursday that they had probable cause to believe Guillette was the perpetrator of the Hannaford’s incident. Police then prepared an affidavit and put out a bulletin, which resulted in Guillette’s apprehension on Friday.
Guillette was stopped in his vehicle Friday on Williston Road by South Burlington Police. He was placed in handcuffs behind his back, but while officers “conferred and awaited the response of Burlington Police officers,” he was able to obtain an extendable box cutter and cut his neck, according to the statement. Guilette was then brought to the University of Vermont Medical Center, where he was treated for non-life threatening wounds, before being discharged to the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility.
Officers also responded to a call about Guillette in April about a past domestic assault, at which time the alleged victim also reported him for looking at child pornography. In May, he was arrested and charged with six felony counts in relation to the child pornography, though he was ultimately released under strict conditions. He is considered at high-risk for recidivism, as he did not participate in treatment while in jail.
Guillette spent 17 years in prison after he was convicted on four counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child in 1999.
In a separate case last week, Burlington Police responded to a call in the Old North End about a man allegedly touching a 10-year-old girl inappropriately. The girl was playing in her backyard with other children, when she was approached by a man from the other side of the fence. She described him as white, middle aged, of medium build, and with shorter black and gray hair and scruff, according to the release. WCAX has reported Guillette is a suspect in that case.
In their press release about the Hannaford’s incident, Burlington Police said they do not “ascribe to the idea of stranger danger,” and that they want children who become separated or lost to seek help. They recommended that parents warn their kids that an adult who needs help from children is a red flag, and that kids can tell adults “no,” sometimes loudly if need be. They also recommended that parents know what their children are wearing, and that children know their parents’ addresses and contact information.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Repeat Burlington sex offender charged with inappropriately touching child in Hannaford’s.