Part 1 of 2

MIDDLEBURY — As she prepares to defend herself against a DUI charge this spring, Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos is touting a major rebound in her office.

In a recent press release, she specifically pointed to the hiring of a new deputy prosecutor, attorney Kai Hardy, and major advances in casework since she started the job. The county prosecutor’s office has shrunk, from 44.29% to 14.32%, its backlog of cases; reduced by 8% the volume of criminal cases, and seen a 70% decline in the number of pending criminal cases awaiting prosecution.

“Since March 2023 and today, our office has averaged a clearance rate of 112% per month,” Vekos stated in the release. “This means that for every new case that is brought to court, 1.12 cases are resolved (closed).”

But not everyone is crowing about her accomplishments.

Numerous victims in criminal cases prosecuted by Vekos — particularly survivors of domestic and sexual assault cases — told the Independent they were dissatisfied with the way their cases were handled by the county’s top prosecutor.

The Independent interviewed five victims and/or family members of victims associated with cases handled by Vekos. Those interviewed claimed that since she took office more than two years ago, Vekos has been late for court proceedings, unprepared for court business, at times addressed victims in a condescending manner, and seemed preoccupied with clearing the caseload at the expense of what they believed should be a harsher punishment for the defendant.

In addition to interviewing Vekos and several of those whose cases she handled, the Independent spoke with local victims’ advocates, lawmakers and officials involved in county courthouse proceedings. They shared their observations and, in some cases, correspondence between themselves and Vekos that they said demonstrates a level of unprofessionalism and curtness they’d never seen under prior state’s attorneys.

Vekos was offered opportunities to defend herself, both during an in-person interview and through a series of emailed questions.

“I don’t think it would be appropriate to engage in a public debate with unidentified sources about specific cases,” she said. “However, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with anyone involved in a case that I have prosecuted to have a constructive discussion. I stand by the record of my work in the hundreds of cases I’ve handled in over 27 years of legal practice, including the cases of the Addison County SA’s office.”

Those interviewed by the Independent alleged, among other things, that:

• About 10 victims in 2024 chose to hire attorneys to help ensure their rights as victims were being upheld. While advocates told the Independent that the extent of victims “lawyering up” as “unprecedented” in Addison County’s criminal division, Vekos said, “I don’t see it as interference; I find it very helpful.”
• In September of 2023, members of the county’s domestic violence/sexual assault team requested a meeting with Vekos because she was allegedly not responding to official case updates. Vekos, according to two people at that meeting, walked out mid-meeting while raising her voice. A month later, Vekos agreed to monthly “community partner” meetings to review sex assault and domestic violence cases, but subsequently cancelled and no longer participates, according to regular attendees.

“There came a time when I felt the meetings themselves weren’t productive,” Vekos said. “The idea was the group wanted to be regularly updated on the status (of cases). I felt the updates are just as easily done by emails and reports I’ve developed.”

But at least one member of the team contends she was temporarily denied access to that information.

Vekos has had such a fractured relationship with victims’ advocate Martha Bowdish that she at one point during 2023 cut off Bowdish’s access to Justware, a software program through which SA employees can access case information.

“You are not an employee of this department and I cannot imagine a scenario where a non-employee would have full access to the state’s files, videos, calendars, etc.,” Vekos informed Bowdish through a Nov. 17, 2023, email.

“I’m not cutting you out or denying you any information,” she stated. “Relax. Please. This conversation is over.”

The Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys & Sheriffs quickly restored Bowdish’s access.

Unlike Katie Dutton — a victims’ advocate funded through and assigned to the SA’s office — Bowdish is employed by the Addison County Unit for Special Investigations, which helps the SA’s office investigate sexual assault and domestic violence cases. The State’s Attorney and Sheriff’s office covers the annual cost of Bowdish’s work, without which Vekos and her staff would need look after victims’ concerns in hundreds of additional juvenile and criminal cases.

And in addition to being temporarily kicked off Justware, Vekos last April asked the Vermont Department of Buildings & General Services to deactivate the badge that allows Bowdish access to the SA’s office. This happened just days before a trial in the longstanding case of Rein Kolts, who was charged with two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault on a victim under 13 years. The offenses took place between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2011 when the survivor was between the ages of 7-13 years old. Bowdish had been working with victims in the case.

Annie Noonan, labor relations and operations director for the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys & Sheriffs, denied Vekos’s request.

“(Bowdish) cannot perform her work (on the Kolts trial) without being able to be in the office to communicate and collaborate with you and the other staff,” reads Noonan’s letter denying the deactivation of Bowdish’s badge.

“It seems reasonable to expect that whatever issues or problems may exist in the relationship between you and Martha, the victims in cases being handled by the Addison County SA’s Office, and by Martha on our behalf, should not suffer as a result; and that you will make every effort to proceed professionally and collegially with Martha for the benefit of the victims in the Addison County SA’s Office cases.”

In an email, Vekos cited the Kolts case as a win for her office, but also an example where the survivors won’t be happy with the sentence handed down to the defendant.

“In February of 2024, I tried a serial child rapist who was found guilty of two counts of sexual abuse of a child under the age of 13. This defendant now faces the possibility of 10 years to life on each count. He will likely never admit to his crimes, and I will advocate that he spend the rest of his life in prison. But for this victim and her family, life in prison is probably not punishment enough.”

TOO LATE TO CALL EXPERT

But victims’ advocates alleged that Vekos was unable to get an expert witness to testify on the state’s behalf because or her own tardiness in advancing that witness, Abby Tassel, a trauma-informed sexual assault investigation and adjudication educational program instructor.

With the case set for trial on May 1, 2024, Vekos’s office filed a notice on March 21 that it intended to call Tassel. Kolts’s attorneys filed a motion to exclude Tassel from testifying because the late disclosure date wouldn’t give defense the time to retain and prepare its own expert witness.

Vermont Superior Court Judge Michael S. Kupersmith agreed with the defense in an April 17 ruling.

“The time for the state to disclose the expert witness was prior to Sept. 15, 2023. The state even had a second chance to retain and disclose its expert when the trial was postponed on Oct. 26, 2023. Here, disclosure of the state’s witness was simply too late,” he wrote in his decision.

The Independent reached out to Bowdish for comment. She provided the following statement:

“I applaud the bravery of these survivors for their courage to talk about their experiences with the criminal justice system and specifically SA Vekos. I have observed the injustices survivors have endured at the hands of SA Vekos and I stand with the survivors. Victims of domestic and sexual violence matter. Despite SA Vekos’ lack of aggressive prosecution of domestic and sexual violence cases, there is a team of dedicated professionals that are here to support and advocate for you.”

Also among the complaints against Vekos that the Independent heard were that:

• When former Deputy State’s Attorney Anthony Bamrick gave his notice last summer, Vekos told him to get out and started throwing things, according to a witness to the alleged incident.

“I am also not going to comment on a private conversation that took place between myself and a member of my staff,” Vekos said of the incident. “I was sorry to see Anthony go, but glad that he achieved his goal of going into private practice.”

• On Nov. 4, 2024, Addison County Superior Court Judge Robert Katims and court staff held a criminal law bench/bar meeting at which attorneys, court staff, county prosecutors and community partners met to discuss criminal law issues. Vekos, according to multiple witnesses, arrived late and, during discussion about the length of citation dates, got upset and left the courtroom, allegedly yelling an epithet heard by the people in the courtroom. She returned near the end of the meeting, according to witnesses.

Vekos acknowledged being saddened, as opposed to angry, about at the incident in question.

• Vekos, according to testimonials gathered by some of those who have worked alongside her, doesn’t react well when prosecutorial partners disagree with her. Sources noted, as an example, a Nov. 15, 2023, sentencing hearing at which Judge David Fenster — a former Addison County state’s attorney, himself — heard a proposed plea deal for Andrew Hinman, now 23, a defendant who’d been charged with a felony sexual assault/no consent charge stemming from a Sept. 8, 2017, incident when he and the female victim were both 15.

The victim and her family said the proposed sentence was too lenient — a four-year deferred sentence (probation), with credit for time served. The jail time he’d already served was for violating conditions of release.

Fenster rejected that plea deal.

The day after that hearing, Vekos sent an email message to two advocates who worked with victims in the Hinman case: Bowdish and Jena Santa Maria, director of advocacy for Atria Collective, formerly known as WomenSafe.

“A colossal mistake,” Vekos wrote. “Whatever trust and partnership that existed between our offices is now in grave jeopardy. I look forward to seeing how you plan to repair it.”

Family and friends of the victim turned out at the Mahady Courthouse this past Monday, Feb. 10, to see Hinman agree to a plea deal that called for six years of probation, with conditions — including that he not contact the victim, engage in violent or threatening behavior and meet regularly with his probation officer.

Danielle Hill, the victim’s mom, said she was shocked that the plea deal didn’t include incarceration or the defendant’s placement on the state’s sex offender registry.

Asked how she felt about the punishment Hinman will ultimately face, Hill replied, “What punishment? Unfortunately, it was kind of what we expected, but not what we had hoped for, because of the history of the case … There’s no way justice was served, in my opinion.”

ETHICS COMPLAINT

Hill and her family recently spearheaded an ethics complaint against Vekos’s handling of the case. In its complaint — pending before the Vermont State Ethics Commission — the family alleges, among other things, that Vekos should have recused herself from prosecuting Hinman because she had been an employee of the Middlebury law firm of Marsh & Wagner during a time that it had represented the Hinman family during juvenile proceedings related to Andrew.

“From the time she took over this case, we always felt there were two defense counsels in the room, not a prosecutor,” Hill said.

The Independent’s interview with Hill occurred around a week after the Hinman plea deal. Hill at the time said she was still working up the courage to tell her daughter — who she said is still traumatized by the incident seven years later.

“I’m afraid of what her reaction will be,” she said.

Among those in the courtroom for the Hinman sentencing hearing was Rep. Matt Birong, D-Vergennes. Birong chairs the House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee. It’s a panel with a broad jurisdiction that seeps into judiciary matters.

“I witnessed a hearing where SA Vekos addressed the victims’ advocates and representatives of the families in an alarming and unprofessional way,” he said during a phone interview. “(Her tone) was dismissive and condescending. The statements that the families issued to the court at the end of the hearing were very pointed toward the (legal) process they dealt with.”

Birong said he’s spoken with victims and judicial stakeholders about Vekos’s prosecutorial acumen.

“I am very concerned about the description of the professional conduct exhibited by SA Vekos. I’m concerned about the plea agreements she’s navigating, especially around the frustration — and quite frankly, ire — that I’ve heard from some of the victims’ families. I hope the (state’s Professional Conduct Board), housed within our judiciary, is taking the complaints that are being filed against SA Vekos with utmost seriousness.”

Vekos defended her performance on behalf of the state and victims:

“As prosecutor, I try to strike a balance — as justice requires — to meet the needs of victims and the community. I do this with careful thought, deliberation and creativity. Unfortunately, we cannot always control the outcome of a criminal matter and there are times when others may disagree with my approach to a particular case. As a rule, parties are usually dissatisfied with criminal court outcomes. Our system of justice simply does not have the tools to make victims truly whole or take away their pain. The best it can hope to do is work toward accountability, rehabilitation, restitution and, yes, even punishment where warranted. This is my goal in every case.”

The Independent reached out to Atria Collective officials for comment. In the last three months of 2024, Atria served 218 new victim/survivors, 88 of whom received legal assistance. Specific services included help obtaining restraining orders, no-stalking orders, civil legal assistance with family law issues, and immigration assistance.

The Atria board provided a statement, which in part reads:

“For the past two years, Atria Collective has observed the tenure of Eva Vekos as Addison County State’s Attorney, a critical and influential position that significantly impacts the lives of victims and survivors in our community. Unfortunately, during her time in office, Atria Collective has witnessed countless instances where the statutory rights of victims and survivors have been violated, along with a consistent and troubling disregard for their respect and dignity — behaviors that no one, especially victims and survivors, should have to endure. In case after case, our agency has observed State’s Attorney Vekos neglecting to prioritize both the safety of victims and survivors and the well-being of the community. Victims and survivors deserve security and justice.

“Atria Collective continues to be dedicated to supporting victims and survivors throughout the criminal justice continuum,” the statement continues. “It is our sincere hope that State’s Attorney Vekos reflects on and acknowledges the harm caused by her practices and dedicates herself to learning and growth in her role as well as opportunities for repair. To the victims and survivors of Addison County: we see you, we hear you, you are valid, you are enough, and we continue to stand with you —today and every day.”

Editor’s note: In Part 2 next week we will look at victim testimonials.