MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A suspended Vermont state senator goes on trial this week on two counts of sexual assault, and up to four other legislators are expected to be called to testify.
Sen. Norman McAllister was arrested outside the Statehouse on May 7, 2015, on six counts, including three of felony sexual assault. Each one of the sexual assault charges could bring up to a life sentence.
The 64-year-old Republican lawmaker and farmer has maintained his innocence.
In January, the Senate voted to suspend him. Several Senate colleagues have urged McAllister to resign, but he refused and filed nominating petitions last month to seek re-election.
McAllister’s lawyer, Brooks McArthur, persuaded a judge last month to order two separate trials for McAllister by arguing that trying all the charges at once would be prejudicial to his client. The other four counts — one of sexual assault and three of prohibited acts — are expected to be tried in the fall.
At the first trial, set to begin Wednesday in St. Albans, McAllister will face one of three accusers, a now-21-year-old woman who worked on his farm and as an assistant to McAllister at the Statehouse during the 2015 legislative session.
The four legislators on the list of potential witnesses are McAllister’s former housemates in Montpelier during the 2015 legislative session, Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, and Rep. Timothy Corcoran, D-Bennington; Sen. Dustin Degree, a Republican and McAllister’s Franklin County district mate; and Rep. Corey Parent, R-St. Albans, who gave the woman rides between Montpelier and her home.
The state has also listed two news reporters — Peter Hirschfeld of Vermont Public Radio and Mark Davis of Seven Days — as potential witnesses. McArthur said Monday Judge Robert Mello could decide Tuesday whether they will be called to testify over his objection and those of the reporters’ employers.
Neither McAllister nor Franklin County State’s Attorney James Hughes returned calls seeking comment Monday.
The second trial will cover accusations related to the other two accusers.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
