Police: Woman raped in Vermont courthouse

Elizabeth Murray | Burlington (Vt.) Free Press

BURLINGTON, Vt. — A woman was raped in a bathroom of Burlington's criminal courthouse, a building secured by metal detectors and armed guards, according to charges laid out in court papers. Police are seeking the suspect, who remains at large.

A warrant has been issued for Robert Rosario, 32, of Burlington, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman Friday, Assistant Attorney General John Treadwell said. The warrant was issued Wednesday after attempts to reach Rosario were unsuccessful, and Judge Thomas Devine found probable cause in the case.

The warrant sets bail at $250,000.

Rosario had been at the courthouse for a hearing in a case in which he was accused of selling more than an ounce of cocaine in Burlington.

A female court officer along with several female lawyers reported that a man fitting Rosario's description verbally harassed them before the incident to a point where they hid, according to court papers.

Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan said his office is "aware of the case" but has referred prosecution to the Attorney General's Office. Donovan declined further comment, other than to say the case is under investigation.

The woman initially told court security that Rosario had grabbed her by the arm in the second floor women's bathroom. She later reported that the man had sexually assaulted her. She said the attack lasted no more than five minutes.

The Burlington Free Press and USA TODAY do not name victims of alleged sexual assault without their consent.

The woman had been meeting with a social worker assigned to the courthouse before the assault, court papers state. The meeting ended at 11 a.m. Oct. 16, and the Burlington Police Department was called to the courthouse at 11:17 a.m.

A court security officer described the woman's body language as "shaking and crying" when she told him about being raped, court papers state.

The woman first denied knowing Rosario but later told police she knew him by his street name "Z" and had purchased crack cocaine from him in the past, according to court documents.

The woman told police she had seen Rosario after her appointment, and he had asked to use her phone in the hallway near the Clerk's Office. She gave him her phone, and he briefly held it and returned it to her, Detective Peter Chapman wrote in an affidavit. Chapman works for the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations, which handles reported sex crimes. CUSI is the lead agency in the courthouse case.

She then went into the second-floor women's bathroom to use the toilet in the smaller of two stalls. Upon exiting the stall, the woman said she saw Rosario.

"Don't scream, be quiet," he said, Chapman wrote in court papers. Rosario then proceeded to rape the woman, the detective added.

A nurse who later conducted a sexual assault exam on the woman said there was a red mark visible on her lower back, Chapman wrote.

Police searched the bathroom and found a belt in the larger stall and a possible blood spatter in the small stall. Investigators identified a fingerprint from Rosario's left middle finger on the smaller stall's door, Chapman wrote.

Before the attack, according to the detective's account, several lawyers — all female — reported Rosario was exhibiting "sexually aggressive and inappropriate behavior."

The lawyers said "he had followed each of them very closely and made them feel uncomfortable and unsafe to the point that they had waited in an interview room waiting for him to leave," Chapman wrote. The lawyers told a state prosecutor about the incidents, and he informed court security.

Right after the assault, court papers state, an unknown woman in the courthouse began making loud comments that the alleged victim was making a false report and what had occurred "was actually a drug deal."

Another witness told police that it appeared the woman who later reported being raped had been "bugging" a man fitting Rosario's description before the incident, but the witness was unsure what the two were discussing, Detective Chapman wrote.

The witness "said it looked like the male was telling the woman not to bother him and was keeping a distance from her," Chapman added.

Rosario is known to the Burlington Police Department and the New York Police Department and has a lengthy criminal record that includes charges for drug possession and assault, court papers state.

Gov. Peter Shumlin has been briefed on the situation, said the governor's spokesman, Scott Coriell. Coriell said in a message to the Burlington Free Press that Shumlin is "shocked that the alleged incidents would happen anywhere."