Charges have been dropped against a New York man accused of sexually assaulting a woman at Landmark College in Putney while they were both students there.
Windham County Deputy State’s Attorney Dana Nevins said in an email on Friday that the prosecution moved to dismiss the charges against Victor Tomelden, 23, of Altamont, New York, following the recent death of the victim in the case.
Nevins declined to release the cause of the death.
Although “there are some cases in which the State can proceed with charges without a victim,” Nevins wrote, “in this case the State determined that we could not produce enough admissible evidence to be able to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt without her testifying at trial.”
During his arraignment in October 2021, Tomelden pleaded not guilty to felony charges of sexual assault and lewd and lascivious conduct. He had been free on conditions.
If convicted, Tomelden faced up to life in prison.
In court filings, police said that the sexual assault occurred in October 2020 in Tomelden’s campus office, which he was granted as the student government president at the school.
Nevins said that the charges against Tomelden were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled in the future.
The prosecutor wrote in the filing earlier this month dismissing the charges that the prosecution objects “in the interest of justice” to the sealing or expungement of the charges.
In Friday’s email to VTDigger, Nevins declined to comment on the reasons for the objection.
“The law provides for automatic sealing after a certain number of days in the absence of an objection from the prosecution,” he said.
James Valente, an attorney representing Tomelden, said Thursday that he had not been made aware by the prosecution of the reasoning behind the dropping of the charges.
Although he noted the state could bring other charges, he said Tomelden and his family “are pleased with the dismissal without prejudice.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Prosecutor dismisses sex assault charges against ex-Landmark College student leader.