A former deputy with the Caledonia County Sheriff’s Department, accused of soliciting sex and nude photos from women he encountered as an officer in exchange for money, has reached a plea deal that will allow him to avoid jail.
Stephen Bunnell, 47, pleaded guilty Monday in Caledonia County Superior criminal court in St. Johnsbury to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct by phone and prohibited conduct.
News of Bunnell’s plea deal and of the hearing that took place Monday was first reported by the Caledonian Record.
The agreement calls for a $100 fine and a two-year deferred sentence on the charges accusing him of seeking nude photos. If he fulfills the terms of the agreement, which includes taking part in sex offender treatment, the prohibited conduct charge would be cleared from his record.
According to police, a woman reported to have known Bunnell through police interactions told investigators she met him several times for sex for payment of between $300 and $400, sometimes while he was on duty.
The prohibited conduct charge to which Bunnell pleaded guilty Monday stated that he offered money to a woman in exchange for nude photos. The disorderly charge stated that Bunnell repeatedly contacted a different woman “to harass” her into providing nude photos to him.
Two other charges of committing prohibited acts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Windham County State’s Attorney Tracy Shriver prosecuted the case to avoid a conflict with the Caledonia County State’s Attorney’s Office in bringing the case.
Shriver could not be reached Tuesday. However, the Caledonian Record reported the prosecutor cited issues with the older cases because of the statute of limitations and problems connecting with the victims as among the reasons for the plea agreement.
Corby Gary, Bunnell’s attorney, said Tuesday in an interview that the plea deal allowed Bunnell to take responsibility for the offenses he had committed, while dismissing other charges.
“He pleaded to those crimes that he committed; the others were dismissed because he did not commit those,” Gary said.
Gary said his client agreed to the plea deal because he had grown tired of news reports about his case in the local paper, the Caledonian Record, “that dragged him through the public eye with the same repetitive story.”
Dana Gray, executive editor of the Caledonian Record, in an interview Tuesday defended the newspaper coverage of the case.
“We certainly weren’t on any kind of witch hunt against Stephen Bunnell,” Gray said. “It was more following the process. … A member of law enforcement should expect some additional scrutiny from the position that they hold of public service, public responsibility and accountability.”
Bunnell’s attorney said Bunnell, a former captain in the sheriff’s department, had resigned a “long time ago” as the investigation proceeded.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Ex-sheriff’s deputy, accused of trading money for sex and nude photos, reaches plea deal.