ADDISON COUNTY AND BRANDON — On May 7 the Vermont State Police Special Investigation Unit out of Rutland arrested Joseph N. Shackett Jr., 48, of Brandon and charged him with aggravated sexual assault.
The 12-year-old victim reported that during a sleepover in April Shackett sexually assaulted her. Shackett is known to the victim. Shackett is scheduled to answer the charge in Rutland District Court on June 17.
Aggravated sexual assault holds a maximum penalty of life in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
The Rutland Unit for Special Investigations is a multidisciplinary team that investigates, prosecutes and serves the needs of victims of crimes involving sexual exploitation of children and adults, also physical abuse of children and vulnerable adults.
Separately, an off-duty trooper recovered from Bristol Road in Monkton what was determined to be a stolen bicycle on May 6, and fellow officers from the New Haven barracks attempted to find the owner. They were successful on May 11 when they spoke with Jessica Johnson of Monkton, who told them that two bikes had been moved out of a locked garage and then stolen. One bike was found in a ditch less than a mile away, and the trooper had recovered the other. Troopers are still investigating the initial theft; anyone with information is asked to contact VSP at 802-388-4919. Information can also be submitted anonymously online at www.vtips.info or by texting “CRIMES” (274637) to Keyword: VTIPS.
In other recent activity in the area, troopers:
•  On April 28 cited Kelly O’Keefe, 25, of Shoreham for taking tangible property. The trooper said her investigation suggests that O’Keefe took a woman’s purse from a vehicle. Statements indicate to the trooper that O’Keefe admitted the theft and promptly returned the property. O’Keefe said she tried to return the purse to Middlebury police and was referred to VSP because the incident had taken place in Cornwall.
•  On May 7 stopped a motor vehicle driven by Nicholas Cormier, 23, of Vergennes on Maple Street in Waltham for defective equipment. During the stop police found Cormier in possession of seven marijuana plants, and cited him for cultivation of marijuana.
•  On May 8 at 8:39 p.m. responded with police, fire and rescue personnel from Brandon to a one-car rollover on McConnell Road in Brandon. Upon arrival officers found a Land Rover SUV on its roof with significant damage. The operator, who was identified as 54-year-old Bernadette Candee of Brandon, refused medical attention. While speaking with Candee, officers detected a odor of intoxicants. Police found her blood alcohol content tested at 0.093 percent (the legal limit for driving is 0.08) and cited Candee for driving under the influence.
•  On May 9 at 8 a.m. received a complaint that someone had stolen 130 prescription pills from a home in Lincoln. Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact VSP.
•  On May 9 responded to two incidents of reported assault. Investigation revealed that the two assaults were related. One assault occurred at a residence in Ferrisburgh and the second assault, reported approximately 30 minutes later, occurred at Beeman Elementary School when, according to police, Geraldine Beaver, 60 of Ferrisburgh began a physical altercation. Troopers arrested Beaver and processed her on two counts of simple assault and disorderly conduct.
•  On May 9 received a complaint that between 5:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. someone had entered a Route 7 home in Salisbury and gone through personal belongings. Nothing was reported as missing at the time. Anyone with information is asked to contact VSP.
•  On May 9 were called to investigate the theft of a black Classic iPod, a blue Fuji Film camera and a white bread making machine from a Hardscabble Road home in Bristol. Anyone with information is asked to contact VSP.
•  On May 9 began investigation into the burglary of a Route 125 home in Cornwall. Items reported stolen include jewelry. It is estimated that the burglary occurred between 10 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. that day. Anyone with information is asked to contact VSP.
•  On May 9 at 8:53 p.m. responded to an incident in Whiting in which a Chevy van traveling southbound on Route 30 struck a cow that was in the middle of the road. No humans were injured and the van sustained minor contact damage.
•  On May 10 at 2:19 a.m. responded to a motor vehicle crash on Route 116 in Bristol. Police said their investigation revealed that the driver, identified as 28-year-old Danielle Contant of Bristol, was under the influence of alcohol — two times over the legal limit. She was cited for DUI.
•  On May 10 at 2:52 p.m. were alerted to a case of identity theft in which someone used a Monkton octogenarian’s personal information to charge $500 to a Dish Network account. Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Andrew Leise at the VSP.
•  On May 10 at approximately 4:21 p.m. went to a home on Town Line Road in Bridport to begin investigation of the theft of five sets of earrings and other jewelry worth approximately $4,500. Also, $500 cash was reported missing from the residence. Anyone with information is asked to contact VSP.
•  On May 10 at 4:41 p.m. were alerted to the theft of personal property from two vehicles parked at the hiking trailhead parking lot on Mountain Road in Addison. The vehicles were secured and there was no damage. Police said it appears a “slim jim”-type tool may have been used to unlock the vehicles so the thieves could get in. Anyone with information is asked to contact VSP.
•  Received two separate complaints that on May 10 someone had cut the catalytic converter from a vehicle parked at Larabees Point State Fishing Access on Hanson Road in Shoreham while the owners were away. In one incident, a Castleton man said his converter was stolen between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. In the second, a Rutland man reported his converter stolen between 1 and 5 p.m. Anyone with information is asked to contact the VSP.
•  On May 11 at a little before 1 a.m. cited John Sidaway, 43, of Ripton for driving under the influence of alcohol on Lincoln Road in Bristol.
•  On May 11 responded to a report of the theft of two specialty 6-volt tractor batteries and two 12-volt tractor batteries, as well as a Craftsman power washer from a farm on South Street in New Haven. The farmer said someone cut the batteries out of his tractors. Anyone with information is asked to contact VSP.
•  On May 11 at 5 p.m. fielded a complaint that a cell phone was stolen from a vehicle parked at First Seasons Greenhouse in Ferrisburgh.
•  On May 11 at around 6 p.m. patrolled the area around Meehan Road and Ireland Road in Bristol  in response to tips and complaints of ATV’s and dirt bikes traveling on those roads. Police said they found Julian Provost, 27, of Milton on an ATV on Ireland Road and cited Provost for driving with a criminally suspended license.
•  On May 11 at 11:06 p.m. stopped a vehicle driven by Kate Broadbent, 30, of Bristol on Route 116 in Starksboro and cited her for driving under the influence of alcohol.
•  On May 13 were told that sometime before 8 a.m. that day a vandal had scratched a car parked at a residence on Lincoln Road in Ripton. Anyone with information is asked to contact the VSP.
•  On May 13 at approximately 9:44 a.m. responded to a two-vehicle crash at the railroad crossing on Route 7 in Ferrisburgh. Police said Ruth Robtoy, 23, of Vergennes rear-ended a Ford F-250 pickup driven by Glen Peck, 52, of Weybridge as they waited for a train crossing the road. There were no reported injuries. Robtoy was issued a traffic ticket.