Chief defends decision to hide courthouse rape case

New Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo is defending a decision by investigators and prosecutors to hide information from the public about a reported rape at the Edward J. Costello Courthouse in Burlington.

The comments by del Pozo followed a Burlington Free Press report Thursday about the rape allegation and contrasted with remarks the incoming chief made when he started work Sept. 1 about wanting to lead a police department that believes in transparency.



Del Pozo said Friday a decision was made for investigative reasons to try to secretly find suspect Robert Rosario, 32, whose hometowns are listed as Burlington and the Bronx borough of New York City, without seeking help from or informing the public.

Del Pozo criticized the news media for covering a reported rape inside the busiest courthouse in Vermont, which also serves as a state office building, on Cherry Street and the subsequent week-long search for the wanted suspect.

An initial written statement from del Pozo criticizing journalists arrived via email about two hours after a news conference about the rape case was held at 8:15 p.m. Thursday at the Burlington Police Department.

The Burlington Free Press, which broke the story, withheld information about the woman, including her age, hometown and other identifying characteristics listed in publicly available court papers. Del Pozo's statement referred to the woman as an "associate" of the suspect.

The Free Press reported that the woman was attending a meeting in the Costello Courthouse but never reported for what reason. The courthouse is home to criminal, family and environmental court and the Vermont Judicial Bureau. There are also offices for the Vermont Corrections Department, the Chittenden County State's Attorney's Office, the Vermont Office of Child Support and also houses a cafe.

At Thursday's news conference, Burlington Detective Sgt. Michael Warren, who heads the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations, spoke and then answered questions for about seven minutes before handing out copies of the affidavit of probable cause for Rosario's arrest.

The attack happened in a second floor ladies bathroom across from a courtroom and the Clerk's Office. The building, which has security cameras, also is protected by about a dozen security guards and court officers. Police also are frequently in the building for hearings and meetings.

Thursday's news conference was called because the Burlington Free Press had uncovered the report of the sexual-assault case and the subsequent issuance of a felony arrest warrant. The Free Press obtained the affidavit Thursday afternoon from the Court Clerk's Office, where the document is a public record.

The Free Press disclosed basic facts of the case as outlined in the affidavit but withheld other details that could have identified the victim or several witnesses, whose names were included throughout the court paperwork, because the suspect remained at large. For that reason the Free Press also decided not to post the affidavit online.

The Free Press has a policy of not publicly identifying reported victims of sexual assault unless the individuals agree to be named.

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said Friday he has talked with his new chief and understands a professional law-enforcement judgment was made to keep the rape and the arrest warrant a secret while chasing the suspect.

Weinberger, who did not learn about the rape case until Thursday evening, more than six days after the incident, said he had no role in deciding whether information would be shared or kept secret.

"My office was not orchestrating the media response," the mayor said.

He called the reported rape "a terrible, outrageous incident that happened at the courthouse."

The mayor said based on what he has been told, supports CUSI's efforts in the case.

Police had been checking Rosario''s residence for a week and following other investigative leads. Obtaining the felony arrest warrant also allowed more law enforcement resources to be used, including the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force.

Keeping more under wraps

Del Pozo said his department has begun a discussion with police and prosecutors about the possibility of trying to have courts seal arrest warrants in some cases to avoid a repeat performance.

When asked why the public and and the press were excluded from the discussion, he said they could be heard from.

He noted there are some provisions under Vermont's public-records law that allow police to withhold certain information from the public.

RELATED: Police: Woman raped in Burlington courthouse

In Rosario's case, Vermont Superior Court Judge Thomas Devine found probable cause for an arrest warrant Wednesday. The Free Press soon learned about the incident and the public arrest warrant and supporting documents.

Investigators searched for one week for Rosario with no luck. Del Pozo said late Thursday that investigators believe Rosario fled Vermont. Rosario also is known by a few street names, including “Z,” “CC” and “Dior,” court records show.

Detective Warren of CUSI said consultations were held with supervisors at the Burlington Police Department and with the Vermont Attorney General’s Office about whether to release information regarding the reported rape at a state office building and courthouse.

Warren said once local TV stations began asking about the Free Press report, a decision was made to call a news conference for 8:15 p.m. Thursday at police department headquarters on North Avenue.

“It is a difficult decision to make. It is something that we balance the information that we know with what we believe to be the risk to the public and also trying to balance that with the integrity of the investigation,” Warren said.

“We are not done with the investigation, and certainly we need to be really careful about what information is out. It is really a balancing act between all those things, but ultimately the decision we made was to not do a press release immediately,” the veteran detective said.

“It was a decision that had a lot of thought into it,” he said. Warren said there were benefits to the secrecy effort, but he declined to say what those might have been.

Chief responds

More than two hours after Burlington police hosted the news conference, del Pozo released his statement criticizing the media.

"The victim in the recent Costello Courthouse sexual assault was an associate of her alleged rapist. Publicizing his name and the details of the case has undoubtedly compromised her identity in many circles in our small city. We find this deeply troubling considering that exposing this woman’s victimization has not served a legitimate public safety or investigative end," del Pozo wrote in an email.

"This was not a case of a stranger rape in which a suspect at large poses a danger to the general public. The publicity will now also make it harder to locate Robert Rosario and bring him to justice despite an aggressive, thorough and promising investigation. He is now on the run, and we have good reason to believe he has fled the state."

Del Pozo, replying to follow-up questions from the Free Press, declined to comment about whether police believe Rosario fled Vermont only after the story became public Thursday evening, or if he had gone on the run earlier. Warren declined at the news conference to comment about whether police believed Rosario had fled.

The chief also said he does not believe that suspects' names should be withheld in all cases involving allegations of acquaintance rape.

"I am saying that in each case we have to balance public safety, the privacy needs of the victim, and the best course for the investigation and apprehension," del Pozo wrote to the Free Press.

Prosecution of the case was transferred to the Attorney General’s Office because members of the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office might be witnesses in a trial.

Warren said a news release had been prepared in advance so when Rosario is arrested, the public would be alerted immediately about the case.

Warren said a “risk assessment” is made in these cases about whether to make information public. He said in this current matter, the public was thought not to be at risk.

Rosario has a lengthy criminal record in New York and Vermont, court records show. He was at the courthouse for a hearing on an unrelated criminal charge against him following a drug arrest, records show.

The woman who said she was attacked reported that he confronted her when she left a bathroom stall, court records show.

“Obviously we would not have expected something like this to have happened at the courthouse,” Warren said. “There are security measures there.”

Several female lawyers reported a man fitting Rosario’s description verbally harassed them prior to the incident to a point where they hid, court papers said.

Contact Mike Donoghue at 660-1845 or mdonoghue@freepressmedia.com. Follow Mike on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FreepsMikeD.