ADDISON COUNTY — Vermont State Police are looking into a suspicious fire at a Monkton home.

On Dec. 15 at around 11:30 p.m., the Monkton Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 1237 Tyler Bridge Road. Firefighters found the structure fully involved, and their fire suppression efforts were isolated to an exterior attack due to the instability of the structure.

Despite the fire department’s efforts, they couldn’t save the structure.

As part of his scene assessment, Monkton Fire Chief Curtis Layn contacted the Addison County Fire Investigation Team, which responded to the scene. Addison County Fire Investigators determined the fire to be suspicious. They contacted the state officials for help in determining the origin and cause of the blaze.

Fire investigators Det. Sgt. James Wright and Assistant State Fire Marshal Tim Angell are probing the fire’s origins.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Det. Sgt. Wright at the New Haven state police barracks at 802-388-4919, or the Vermont Arson Tip Award Program hotline at 1-800-32-ARSON (1-800-322-7766). The state program will pay up to a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Meanwhile, state police this week reported progress in their investigation of an apparent sexual assault in Salisbury that occurred back on June 29.

After a lengthy investigation, state police have cited Jason Purdy, 50, of Granville, N.Y., for sexual assault, after allegedly having had nonconsensual sexual contact with a juvenile.

Purdy turned himself in at the Rutland state police barracks on Dec. 18 and was issued a citation to appear in Addison County Superior Court, Criminal Division, on Jan. 27 to answer the charge of sexual assault.

In other recent activity, state police:

• Reported that on Dec. 9 just before 10 a.m., Cyrus Bedard, 35, of Salisbury began repeatedly calling 911 for non-emergency purposes and harassing the dispatchers. These calls continued throughout the day, tying up 911 answering services with 56 calls. Troopers responded to Bedard’s location where they cited him for disturbing the peace via electronic communications.
• On Dec. 19 at around 8:30 a.m., responded to a report of a family fight at a Ridge View Drive home in Leicester. After investigating, troopers said they determined that Craig Disorda, 49, of Leicester, caused two household members, including a child, to fear imminent bodily injury, and that he had allegedly caused physical pain to the adult. Police cited Disorda for two counts of domestic assault.
• On Dec. 22, announced another charge of home improvement fraud against Michael Kenyon, 46, of Vergennes — the fourth time he’s faced this charge during the past three months — all in different cases.

In this incident, state police said they’d received a call on Nov. 11 from a Bristol resident who said they’d hired Kenyon through Valley Pool and Spa Service LLC to provide pool equipment and installation. Kenyon allegedly received an upfront payment for the pool equipment and installation. The Bristol resident said when the work wasn’t done and the equipment wasn’t received, they tried to cancel the job, but Kenyon didn’t follow up or provide a refund. He’s due to answer this charge in Addison County Superior Court, criminal division, on Jan. 27.