Supporters of Richard Shephard turn out in sexual assault case
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NORTHAMPTON - Richard Shephard may be charged with sexually assaulting a child, but his friends and neighbors say the man they know is friendly, outgoing and trustworthy.
Shephard, 55, of 36 Main St., Cummington, has pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to indecent assault and battery on a person under 14. He is being held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail or $1 million bond at the Hampshire Jail and House of Correction.
About 30 of Shephard's neighbors crowded into a court hearing Tuesday, where defense attorney Luke Ryan asked Judge Mary-Lou Rup to dismiss the indictment against his client because, he claims, evidence viewed by the grand jury was tainted.
Shephard was charged after a 7-year-old girl reported to authorities that Shephard touched her "private parts" in the Old Creamery Grocery in Cummington, in March.
Shephard admitted "poking" the girl in the belly, but dismissed her accusation as a misunderstanding, according to a police report.
Prosecutors say Shephard, a British citizen, illegally re-entered the U.S. after deportation in 1990, upon completing a 15-month sentence in New Jersey on a sexual touching conviction.
Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Linda Pisano rejected claims that grand jury testimony against Shephard was tainted.
"There was nothing that interfered with the integrity of the grand jury," she said.
Rup took Ryan's dismissal request under advisement. Shephard is scheduled to appear in court again Feb. 6 for a pretrial hearing.
Meanwhile, neighbors say Shephard, an 11-year-resident of town, is well known in Cummington, where he has volunteered for community projects and is an aerial photographer. Some of his photos of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico were published in the Gazette.
"This is justice run amok," said Mark DeMaranville, director of the Cummington Public Library, who called the charge against Shephard "outrageously unfair."
DeMaranville said he believes child predators should be vigorously prosecuted, but that the case against his neighbor- who is charged with groping the young girl in a public store, in plain view - is seriously flawed.
"I know there are cases where people have done such things," DeMaranville said. "This is not that case."
"He's a completely trustworthy guy," said Arnold Simmel, a part-time Cummington resident who travelled from his permanent home in New York to attend Monday's court hearing.
"I would trust him with my 6-year-old granddaughter, whom I love dearly," said Simmel.
Cummington resident Anna Hanchett called Shephard a "very exuberant, very physical" man who is prone to hug those he meets.
"He touches everyone," Hanchett said.
Shephard's wife, Sandra Thomson, said about 30 of her family's supporters came to court to show their support for her husband.
"We're thankful for everyone who came," she said. "It was really a good show of support."
"It was a very big deal that you were here," Ryan told the group, who gathered outside the courtroom after the hearing. Ryan said it is unusual for someone charged with assaulting a child to attract so many supporters
Thompson, who sobbed after the hearing and was comforted by others in the group of supporters, called the charge against her husband "crap."
Comments
post removed?
Why was my previous post removed?
I called attention to what was written in the article.
I referred to facts about the actions of people regarding other similar situations.
Does the Gazette now find recollection of news not worthy of being posted? Every thing posted was the truth.
Couldn't believe headlines
I was absolutely stunned to read this article. How about supporting the child in this case. If a child is so uncomforable with an interaction with an adult that they tell someone, you have to stop and give that child your attention. Yes, innocent until proven guilty is something we should all believe, but the man is living here illegally to begin with. AND he is a convicted offender. If he was here legally, wouldn't he have to register as a sex offender? Would you be so supportive of him then??? I wonder how many would have been at this court proceeding if he was from somewhere south of the border rather that across the pond! Disgraceful.
supporters acting precipitously
I find the community's support of this man troubling. In an earlier article, the Gazette wrote “Shephard admitted touching the child, saying he poked her in the stomach and hugged her." Grown men have no business hugging and poking the stomachs of little girls they do not know. Grown men who are convicted sex offenders illegally in this country should not be given the benefit of the doubt by the community when they are accused of touching a child in her private parts. "He touches everyone” is hardly a legitimate defense!