Vermont state senator, Norman McAllister

Vermont state senator, Norman McAllister (R), 69, on trial facing two counts of sexual assault

Charges allege McAllister  ‘forced legislative assistant into oral sex and raped her at his home farm when she was 16’

The 4 ft 11 inch woman, now 21, claims the 230lb 6 footer attacked her up to 20 times as an employee, told court she went through ‘hell’

McAllister suspended since January,  maintains he’s innocent, has even declared his candidacy for run for re-election

So far, Sen McAllister  has pled not guilty to 3 counts of felony sexual assault and 3 misdemeanor charges of prohibited acts involving three female victims, including the young intern – Faces another trial this fall on sex offenses involving two other women 

Lawmaker could get up to two life sentences if convicted

Vermont state Sen. Norman McAllister in court, Wednesday, the begining of his trial for sexual assault on an intern

A former legislative assistant to a Republican state senator testified Wednesday that he forced her into oral sex and intercourse at his home farm where she worked.
Sen. Norman McAllister, on trial on two counts of sexual assault, sat stoically at the defense table as the woman testified that he forced her to have oral sex in a barn at his farm and intercourse at his home.
‘I was in hell,’ the alleged victim told the court. ‘I didn’t want it happening.’
The woman said she continued to work for McAllister after the assaults until April 2013.
She told the court she needed the money the upkeep of her car, and she took the position in Montpelier because ‘it was something new, something bigger’.
The woman also accused McAllister of raping her in his Montpelier apartment, which he shared with other lawmakers, the Burlington Free Press reported. In all, she claims McAllister could have sexually assaulted her up to 20 times.

Sen. Norman McAllister, center, and his attorney, on his way to court

During cross examination, the defense argued that there were inconsistencies in stories the woman had told police and in depositions before the trial.
Franklin County Deputy State’s Attorney Diane Wheeler said the accuser wanted to keep the assaults a secret, even when police questioned her during the investigation
Later, one of McAllister’s defense lawyers, David Williams, got the woman to acknowledge she had changed key aspects of her story from what she told police on the day McAllister was arrested, to pretrial sworn statements to lawyers, to her testimony to the jury earlier Wednesday.
The 4-foot-11 woman, who weighs less than 100 pounds, spoke of up to 30 incidents in which she said the 64-year-old McAllister, a foot taller and 230 pounds, overpowered her.
“He put me on the bed. He was holding me down,” the 21-year-old woman said. “I was still saying I did not want this to happen.”
She said there was “so much weight” and “I’m not very strong.”
Williams contrasted her statements to police about up to 30 assaults with her statements to him in a sworn pretrial deposition that there were four.

The dairy farmer – accused of forcing young intern into giving him oral sex on his farm

McAllister has maintained his innocence throughout. Williams asked a series of questions toward the end of the day Wednesday aimed at persuading jurors that the woman was worried her then-boyfriend was upset about her having a sexual relationship with McAllister and that the rape allegations were aimed at placating him.
One question not directly answered in Wednesday’s testimony was whether there had been a consensual sexual relationship between McAllister and the woman.
Williams devoted much of the afternoon to highlighting what the woman acknowledged were numerous inconsistencies in her sworn statements.
Williams pointed to a pretrial deposition in which the woman said McAllister first sexually assaulted her “the very first day I started” working on his farm. He contrasted that with her testimony earlier Wednesday that the first sexual assault didn’t occur until two or three weeks into her employment on McAllister’s farm.
He also questioned why she continued working for McAllister, including volunteering on his 2014 re-election campaign, if he had been sexually assaulting her repeatedly.
The trial is expected to include testimony from some of McAllister’s legislative colleagues. he 69-year-old Republican lawmaker maintains his innocence, and last month declared his candidacy for re-election. However, he also faces another trial this fall on sex offenses involving two other women. Suspended from his legislative post in January, he could get up to two life sentences if convicted on the two sexual assault charges.
The start of the trial Wednesday was delayed when the state requested that McAllister’s accuser be neither videotaped nor audiotaped. A lawyer for the Burlington Free Press and other media members objected, particularly to any ban on audio recordings of her testimony.
A hearing on the issue stretched through the morning before Judge Robert Mello ruled that audio recordings would be allowed but not video or still photos of the woman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Vermont state senator forced his legislative assistant into oral sex and raped her at his farm when she was just 16, a court has heard.

Sen. Norman McAllister, on trial on two counts of sexual assault, sat at the defense table as the 21-year-old woman said she went through ‘hell’ when she worked for the politician.

The 69-year-old Republican lawmaker maintains his innocence, and last month declared his candidacy for re-election.

Suspended from his legislative post in January, he could get up to two life sentences if convicted on the two sexual assault charges.
Vermont state senator Norman McAllister allegedly forced a legislative assistant into oral sex and raped her at his farm. He is pictured listening to the accuser, who is now 21, testifying
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Vermont state senator Norman McAllister allegedly forced a legislative assistant into oral sex and raped her at his farm. He is pictured listening to the accuser, who is now 21, testifying
The 69-year-old Republican lawmaker maintains his innocence, and last month declared his candidacy for re-election. Suspended from his legislative post in January, he could get up to two life sentences if convicted on the two sexual assault charges
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The 69-year-old Republican lawmaker maintains his innocence, and last month declared his candidacy for re-election. Suspended from his legislative post in January, he could get up to two life sentences if convicted on the two sexual assault charges

‘I was in hell,’ the alleged victim told the court. ‘I didn’t want it happening.’

The woman said she continued to work for McAllister after the assaults until April 2013.

She told the court she needed the money the upkeep of her car, and she took the position in Montpelier because ‘it was something new, something bigger’.

The woman also accused McAllister of raping her in his Montpelier apartment, which he shared with other lawmakers, the Burlington Free Press reported.

In all, she claims McAllister could have sexually assaulted her up to 20 times.

During cross examination, the defense argued that there were inconsistencies in stories the woman had told police and in depositions before the trial.

Franklin County Deputy State’s Attorney Diane Wheeler said the accuser wanted to keep the assaults a secret, even when police questioned her during the investigation
The woman also accused McAllister of raping her in his Montpelier, Vermont, apartment, which he shared with other lawmakers. In all, she claims she was attacked up to 20 times
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The woman also accused McAllister of raping her in his Montpelier, Vermont, apartment, which he shared with other lawmakers. In all, she claims she was attacked up to 20 times
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Judge Robert Mello listened to the alleged victim describe what she went through as ‘hell’ during the first day of the trial in St Albans, Vermont
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Judge Robert Mello listened to the alleged victim describe what she went through as ‘hell’ during the first day of the trial in St Albans, Vermont

“She just wanted a job,” Wheeler said. “She didn’t know what to do other than to wish it would never happen again.”

The trial is expected to include testimony from some of McAllister’s legislative colleagues. And he also faces another trial in the case this fall on sex offenses involving two other women.

The start of the trial Wednesday was delayed when the state requested that McAllister’s accuser be neither video- nor audiotaped.

A lawyer for the media members objected, particularly to any ban on audio recordings of her testimony.

A hearing on the issue stretched through the morning before Judge Robert Mello ruled that audio recordings would be allowed but not video or still photos of the woman.