BARRE — A Waterbury man has been sentenced to three to 10 years to serve for having sexual contact with one child and for requesting nude photos from another child.
David C. Darnell Sr., 41, was sentenced Wednesday in Washington County criminal court in Barre on a felony count of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child and a misdemeanor count of possessing indecent material disseminated by a minor. Darnell pleaded guilty to the charges in January.
The state agreed to dismiss multiple other charges Darnell had been facing, including felony counts of aggravated sexual assault on a victim under 13 years old, lewd and lascivious conduct, fentanyl trafficking and narcotic possession, as well as misdemeanor counts of domestic assault and disturbing the peace by phone, per the plea agreement.
For the lewd and lascivious conduct conviction, Detective Trooper Mathew Nadeau, of the Vermont State Police, said in his affidavit the state Department for Children and Families received a report in May 2021 stating a girl had come forward to report Darnell had abused her in late 2019 when the victim was 12 years old.
Nadeau said the victim reported Darnell groped and molested her when she slept. He said the victim reported Darnell asked the victim if she would have sex with him. She reported she told him “no,” and the interaction ended, according to court records.
The detective said the victim later reported Darnell had raped her during the incident. He said she reported Darnell forced himself on her and she told him to stop, but he didn’t.
Nadeau said the victim reported Darnell instructed her that if she told anyone about the assault, he would hurt a member of the victim’s family.
The victim reported she told a family member about the assault about a month after it occurred, but the family member didn’t believe her and told her she was lying, according to court records.
For the possession of indecent material conviction, Detective Cpl. Matthew Knisley, of the Montpelier police, said in his affidavit law enforcement received a report from DCF in April 2020 stating Darnell had been sending Facebook messages to a 16-year-old family member, asking the boy for nude photos.
Knisley said the messages included Darnell telling the victim he wanted to perform a sex act on him and asked the victim if he wanted nude photos from Darnell. The detective said the victim sent Darnell nude photos twice.
He said the messages were flagged by Facebook and forwarded to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Knisley said a search warrant was executed on Darnell’s home in May 2020. He said Darnell was home at the time and admitted to asking the victim for nude photos and that photos were sent to him.
In court Wednesday, the victim of the lewd and lascivious conduct case fought back tears as she described what her life has been like since she was abused by Darnell. She said his actions made her feel as if she was not worthy of love and caused family members to not believe what she says.
“I have nightmares because of you,” she said, adding she has trouble sleeping.
The victim said because she was abused, she now finds herself in relationships with people who treat her badly.
“I want you to stay in jail forever. I want you to feel the pain of not feeling safe, which is what I feel. I don’t want you to hurt anyone else,” she said.
Following the change of plea hearing in January, a pre-sentence investigation was conducted by the state Department of Corrections in this case, which included a psychosexual evaluation completed by a psychologist. Washington County State’s Attorney Michelle Donnelly said those two reports show Darnell poses a moderate-to-high risk to re-offend. Donnelly said the reports showed Darnell has committed similar offenses in the past, which were substantiated by DCF and which he was convicted of.
She said a sentence of three to 10 years to serve for Darnell is appropriate in this case. She said he will participate in programming while incarcerated.
She noted the reports state Darnell continues to not take responsibility for his actions.
“So the state is concerned that if there’s a continuation of not taking responsibility, the state wants Mr. Darnell to know he will end up serving more than his minimum (sentence). That he cannot get past that minimum without taking responsibility for what he has done here, and truly engaging with the treatment options that are going to be presented to him at the facility,” she said.
The prosecutor said there is no sentence the state could negotiate nor is there any amount of responsibility that Darnell could take that would make up for the harm that he caused.
“The victims in these cases are going to be dealing with the trauma and effects for the rest of their lives,” she said.
Attorney Ember Tilton represented Darnell. Tilton said his client has taken responsibility by pleading guilty.
The attorney said Darnell told the psychologist who performed the evaluation that he’s willing to participate in treatment.
Both he and Donnelly asked Judge Kevin Griffin to accept the plea agreement and impose the sentence.
Darnell declined to speak when given the opportunity Wednesday.
The judge said with the way the agreement is structured, Darnell must fully accept responsibility for his actions, and engage with and complete treatment in the facility or he will serve the full 10 years.
“When you are able to rejoin the community, in large part, is going to be up to your willingness to fully accept responsibility and engage in programming. If not, you’re going to be in the custody of the Department of Corrections for the next decade,” Judge Griffin said.
He said he agreed with the state’s attorney that no sentence is going to satisfy everyone in a case like this.
“I am sure that the people who have been most affected by these crimes will feel that somehow it is inadequate. I will simply say that, as a judge sitting on these cases and as a judge who has been able to review all of the investigative reports that were generated in connection with this case, this case would have certainly been a case not without its challenges. And I have no doubt that the state was ready, willing and able to proceed, with respect to trial, if called to do so,” Judge Griffin said.
But he noted the plea agreement spares the victims from having to testify at trial and guarantees that Darnell either accepts responsibility and engages in treatment or he spends the next 10 years in prison.
While the judge said he was concerned with Darnell not taking responsibility, the reason Darnell needs treatment is because he doesn’t “get it.”
The judge then imposed the sentence of three to 10 years to serve.
eric.blaisdell
@timesargus.com
