Records related to dismissed sexual assault and kidnapping charges against a former St. Albans police officer have effectively disappeared, following a court order that the records be sealed — even after two news organizations had requested the information.
The very existence of public records requests filed separately last month by VTDigger.org and Vermont Public Radio has been wiped clean from an online index kept by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office that tracks the status of such requests.
Last Friday’s court order sealing the records is also unavailable to the public. According to state law, if a case is dismissed before trial, the court “shall” within 60 days seal the records unless an objection is raised.
The case had been dismissed Dec. 31.
Both news organizations had been seeking records from the Vermont Attorney General’s Office related to the cases, which involved former officer Zachary Pigeon, following a decision late last year to dismiss charges against him.
The Attorney General’s Office has filed a motion with the court seeking reconsideration of the sealing of the cases in light of the pending public records requests. That motion is also not publicly available.
VTDigger and Vermont Public Radio had submitted their public records requests last month, and VTDigger had mailed a check last Friday for the $182 cost to obtain an initial batch of the documents. The check was received Monday by the AG’s office.
Charity Clark, chief of staff for Attorney General TJ Donovan, wrote in a letter Tuesday to VTDigger, in response to questions about the records, that the documents “were sealed by order of the court” on Friday.
According to the law, she said, “requests for public records going forward are to be met with the response that no record exists.”
However, Clark wrote, since the public records request was already pending, “the view of the attorney general’s office is that we must meet our obligation under the Public Records Act to fulfill your request.”
As a result, she added, on the same day the court sealed the case, the Attorney General’s Office filed a motion seeking reconsideration of that order.
“We await the court’s decision on our motion,” Clark wrote. “It is customary for an opposing party to file a response to a motion, and, in this case, we expect our opposing parties’ response(s) in the coming days.”
Clark said Wednesday she couldn’t comment further.
Zachary Pigeon and his father, Allen Pigeon, were both facing criminal charges for allegedly breaking into a family member’s home in April and assaulting her. Zachary Pigeon was a St. Albans police officer at the time and was off-duty.
Zachary Pigeon was subsequently charged with sexual assault against the same woman. The sex offense involved allegations over a five-year span when the woman was a child.
The Attorney General’s Office was prosecuting the case because the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s Office had a conflict of interest.
On Dec. 31, Donovan announced that the charges against both men had been dismissed.
“The state provided notice that it cannot meet the elements of the charged crimes beyond a reasonable doubt at this time,” Donovan said in a statement.
VTDigger had been seeking the records related to the cases against Zachary Pigeon and his father, hoping to gain additional information about the rationale for the dismissals.
Anne Galloway, editor in chief of VTDigger, said in a statement that the news organization is considering its options, including “legal remedies,” to ensure public access to the records in a case with such high community interest.
“Our initial reporting showed that the victim was allegedly kidnapped and assaulted by family members, one of whom was a law enforcement official,” Galloway stated.
“The public has a right to know the details of alleged physical abuse by a police officer whose role is to protect and serve the public,” she stated. “We are heartened that the Vermont Attorney General’s Office has asked the judge to reconsider the decision to seal all records in the case.”
Mark Davis, VPR’s managing editor, issued a similar statement, saying, “We are deeply concerned and are evaluating all our options.”
Attempts to reach Zachary and Allen Pigeon on Wednesday were not successful.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Records requests blocked as court seals files in ex-police officer assault case.