John “Jake” Petrasch, 39, of Duxbury, appeared in criminal court in Barre on Thursday to answer to charges of aggravated sexual assault.
Petrasch first met the young woman when she was a student at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury and he worked there as a para-educator, according to court papers. The woman told police that he was easy to talk to, and she and her classmates would chat with him about their problems.
John “Jake” Petrasch. Courtesy photo
The woman and Petrasch became reacquainted recently when she accompanied her ex-boyfriend to the court in Barre, where he was taking classes with the Community High School of Vermont, an educational program through the Department of Corrections. Petrasch currently is a teacher there.
The two exchanged phone numbers and began texting, according to court documents.
An affidavit by Trooper Benjamin Patnode describes an interview with the young woman. She reported that Petrasch invited her to hang out on Aug. 5. He picked her up from her home, and they went to his house in Duxbury. She said they smoked marijuana and he encouraged her to drink, but she wasn’t feeling well and she did not.
She later told police she was ill because she had taken the drug molly, also known as ecstasy or MDMA, the night before the encounter with Petrasch, according to an affidavit from Trooper Matthew Hill.
She reported that she lay down on the couch and Petrasch rubbed her back without permission and she told him to stop, then he tried to kiss her and she told him no. He then allegedly grabbed her by the arms, forced her to a bedroom, and raped her.
She said that at one point in the encounter, which she estimated lasted between 15 and 20 minutes, he grabbed her neck and began what she “described as ‘choking’ her to the point where she was having difficulty breathing,” according to the affidavit.
The woman told police that when Petrasch went outside for a cigarette, she left his residence and walked several miles to her mother’s house in Waterbury. Her mother wasn’t home, but she used an outside outlet to charge her cellphone and contact a friend. She said that friend came to pick her up and she spent the night on his couch in Barre.
Police said Petrasch gave them a conflicting account of the encounter. He said the two did smoke pot. He cooked food for them, but the young woman wasn’t feeling well and he encouraged her to drink orange juice, police said he told them.
Petrasch said at first that they cuddled while they watched movies. He said he had consensual sex with the young woman and that they had talked about it, according to police.
He told police she suggested that he grab her neck and “that he was not comfortable with doing that.” He also said she scratched her nails into his back “to the point he had to ask her to stop,” according to a police affidavit.
Petrasch told police he felt badly about the encounter because he is married and the woman didn’t feel well.
After the sexual encounter, the woman spent the night on his couch and he drove her home in the morning in his truck, Petrasch told investigators. A neighbor saw someone drop her off in what was described as a gray truck, according to court papers.
Police returned to the woman to ask more about how she got home that morning. She initially maintained that her friend dropped her off in a black truck; however, she eventually told police she did spend the night at Petrasch’s home and “that she was scared to say anything because of how it would look.” Asked again if the sexual encounter was consensual, she reiterated that it was not.
Petrasch pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Barre on Thursday morning. The charge could carry a penalty of between 10 years and life in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
In court, a deputy state’s attorney said the prosecutors were not seeking bail for Petrasch, as they often would with such a charge, in part because Petrasch has no criminal background and is a state employee.
Petrasch is on administrative leave from his job with the Community High School of Vermont, according to Mike Touchette, Corrections Department director of facility operations. Touchette said the case has been sent to an investigations unit within the Agency of Human Services.
After Petrasch’s arraignment, defense attorney David Williams questioned the accusing witness’ credibility and pointed to inconsistencies in her story as she recounted it to police.
“That’s what this case is about,” Williams said. “It’s based on a lie.”
Williams urged the public to bear in mind that a charge is not a conviction. Just because someone is charged with a crime “doesn’t mean they’re guilty,” he said. “And everyone is presumed innocent.”
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