Weare News : assault

No charges for dad for TV comments

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:05:00 GMT

BY GRETA CUYLER

Police will not charge the father who said he wished he’d tied a rope around his daughter’s boyfriend’s neck and dragged him behind his car.

It was one week ago that Gilberto Soto, 38, of Weare, appeared on ABC’s “20/20” and said he wished he’d done more than beat up then-17-year-old Damon Hadley after learning the boy had sex with his underage daughter.

Soto told the “20/20” interviewer: “So I hit him. Do I regret what I did? No. Would I do it differently? Yes, I would, I would. Now? Take that kid, stick him in the car, tie a rope around his neck and go as fast as I could up and down the highways, every single highway there is.”

His daughter was 15-and-a-half years old, six months shy of the state’s legal age of consent.

“We will not be going forward on any charges,” said Detective Lou Chatel. “The law wasn’t broken.”

Earlier last week, after Hadley’s lawyer requested Soto be charged for criminal threatening based on his television comments, Soto explained he was no threat to the boy.

“My comment on “20/20” was what I would do differently. Damon and young men like Damon need to understand that these young girls have fathers that want to protect them,” Soto said.

Chatel said Soto’s comments referred to what he would have done and was not an imminent threat.

After “20/20” aired, Hadley filed an affidavit saying Soto’s comments frightened him.

“Although it is certainly within the prosecutor’s discretion to charge or not charge any case, I believe this situation called for charges and punishment for Soto,” Hadley’s attorney, George “Skip” Campbell, said.

“We can only hope the backlash and outrage caused by this threat will deter Soto from taking any further criminal actions.”

Hadley and Soto’s daughter were caught skipping school last fall, and the girl told police Hadley raped her. Although she later admitted to police she lied, Hadley was charged with sexual assault because he admitted the two had sex.

Soto was charged with assault for beating up Hadley.

Both eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault; Soto was sentenced to 12 months in jail; Hadley to three months. Both sentences were suspended on condition of good behavior.

Yphantis cleared, tries to move on

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:35:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Mark Yphantis said he is trying to move on with his life after charges of conspiring to assault a Weare police officer – and accepting $700 to do it – and being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon were dropped at a probable cause hearing on Monday, March 11.

“We did a further investigation, which revealed that we wouldn’t be going forward with the charges,” Weare Detective Lou Chatel said, adding only that the testimony of other parties had been added to the investigation and that Yphantis surrendered a 14-inch Bowie knife to police, eliminating the Class B weapon possession felony.

He would not elaborate on what information came to light that changed the investigation’s course. “I’m very limited to what they’ll let me say,” Chatel said.

Yphantis, 47, of 186 A Concord Stage Road, was arrested Jan. 28 on allegations he was plotting to run Weare Police Sgt. James Carney off the road and further to strike him with his elbow, according to a police affidavit from Carney.

“When I got charged with everything, I was on the front page, and now all the articles are on the back page,” Yphantis said of recent reports about the dropped charges.

“Everybody has skeletons in their closet, but mine are all out in the papers,” Yphantis, a felon who has served hard time for a 1998 assault in which a woman went down a flight of stairs and broke her hip, said.

He added he is having an exceptionally hard time finding work since his arrest.

“I tried to get my old job back. They won’t even talk to me,” Yphantis said.

Possible new employers have recognized his name and face from news reports and have turned him down at several interviews, he said.

Police made the arrest based on police interviews with Robert Phelps, 88, of 30 Merrill Road. Phelps told police that his daughter had given Yphantis money to help him while he was out of work.

Phelps said the money was not intended as a pay off to harm officer Carney, but that Yphantis mistakenly understood the money as such. At first, Phelps originally told police it was between $7,000 and $8,000 but later corrected himself, saying the amount was actually $700.

Yphantis, who said the money was a loan for his rent, had been a witness to a shooting on Phelps’ property that occurred in 2007, after Yphantis said he finished an addition on Phelps’ home.

According to Carney’s affidavit, Phelps began to interfere with responding officers’ efforts to treat the shooting victim. Carney tried to lead Phelps away from the scene, and somehow Phelps fell to the ground and cut his arm.

According to police, Yphantis cooperated fully with that investigation.

Phelps agreed to call Yphantis to confirm his claims on Jan. 26. Yphantis’ girlfriend answered the phone and said Yphantis was sleeping, asking Phelps to call back later. He did, and on this call told Yphantis’ girlfriend he wanted to offer Yphantis $2,000 to “deal with Sgt. Carney,” adding he had a “run-in” with Carney that day.

“(Yphantis’ girlfriend) stated Yphantis was not acting himself tonight and would contact Phelps in the morning. It was apparent that (she) has prior knowledge of her boyfriend’s intent to harm Sgt. Carney. According to Phelps, (she) did not question Phelps about what he said,” the affidavit says. Yphantis said he holds no grudges against the Weare Police Department, and praised Chatel for remaining professional and neutral during the course of the investigation.

“They didn’t know the whole story, and they needed to find it out,” said Yphantis of Weare police. “They just overreacted a little bit,” adding he understands the mind set that would compel any police officer to protect a fellow officer in situations such as this one.

He admitted his status as a felon certainly didn’t help steer the investigation in his favor. “There’s a lot of people that stereotype you in situations before they even know you. Yeah, I’m a felon, but lots of people are felons. Let’s look at the situation that happened,” Yphantis said.

Chatel said while it was discussed at one point, there have never been any plans to charge Phelps with anything for his role in the alleged transaction to harm Carney or for filing false reports of any kind, and said the case was officially closed.

While he has gained some support from members of the community, Yphantis said he will likely move out of the Weare area to get away from the incident.

He added he has no plans to take any civil action against the town of Weare or the police department.

Beating not enough says father of girl who had underage sex with boyfriend

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:24:00 GMT

BY GRETA CUYLER

The father who beat up his daughter’s boyfriend after learning the two had had sex appeared on ABC’s “20/20” Friday, March 14, and spoke publicly about the incident for the first time. “So I hit him,” said Gilberto Soto, the girl’s father. “Do I regret what I did? No. Would I do it differently? Yes, I would, I would.

“Now? Take that kid, stick him in the car, tie a rope around his neck and go as fast as I could up and down the highways, every single highway there is,” Soto said, then clarified that he meant drag the boy at the end of a rope behind his car.

The show was called the “Age of Consent.” Soto, 38, is from Weare. Last fall his 15- 1/2-year-old daughter had sex with her then-17-year-old boyfriend, Damon Hadley. Hadley is 18 now.

When school officials caught the two cutting school, the girl alleged Hadley had raped her, according to authorities. Although she later admitted to police she lied, Hadley was charged with sexual assault because he admitted the two had had sex, and under state law, a person cannot consent to sex until the age of 16. Soto was charged with assault.

Both eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault; Soto was sentenced to 12 months in jail and Hadley to three months. Both sentences were suspended on condition of good behavior.

Soto told “20/20” he’s upset Hadley didn’t go to jail. “He should’ve done at least a year,” he said.

Asked if maybe his daughter lied about being raped because she was scared of her father, Soto replied, “My kids don’t have reason to be scared of me.”

Hadley’s lawyer said he hopes Soto will be charged with criminal threatening.

“It is my fervent hope that Soto be charged, convicted and incarcerated for these types of hateful and alarming comments that have no place in our society,” said Concord attorney George “Skip” Campbell.

He said Soto’s comment brings to mind the 1998 killing of James Byrd in Texas. Three men beat up Byrd, stripped him of his clothing, tied a chain around his waist and dragged him for 3 miles.

Lisa Hadley, Damon’s mother, said she’s worried for her son.

“I was worried for him that day in the nurse’s office after he got beat up ...,’’ Lisa Hadley said. “And then to hear him on national TV saying this. Yeah, I’m worried. He got away with what he did to my son.”

Damon Hadley remembers the day Soto beat him up. “I didn’t move at all, I just froze,” Damon said in an interview last month. “I didn’t know what to do. Her dad hit me. I was on the ground. I just remember him standing on top of me and hitting me.

“He kept saying, ‘Did you (have sex with) my daughter?’”

Weare assault gets national exposure

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:08:00 GMT

BY GRETA CUYLER

The New Hampshire high school student arrested after having sex with his girlfriend says he never knew he was breaking the law.

“I didn’t know there was a certain age you had to be to have sex,” said 18-year-old Damon Hadley of Henniker. “I thought if I told the truth, it’d all just go away.”

Hadley is set to tell his story on national television in an upcoming edition of ABC-TV’s “20/20” news show, according to his family and attorney. A spokesman for the show said it may air in March.

Hadley said he didn’t know he had committed a crime when he slept with his 15-and-a-half-year- old girlfriend last fall.

But he had.

And following what he said was his first sexual experience on Sept. 10, Hadley was charged with sexual assault and beaten by the girl’s father after she falsely claimed Hadley raped her.

Although she later admitted to police she lied about the rape allegation, Hadley had already admitted to a crime because, under state law, a person cannot consent to sex until the age of 16.

“When the (police) detective came to collect the bed sheets, Damon said ‘I knew the first time would be memorable, but I didn’t know it would be that memorable,’” said Lisa Hadley, Damon’s mother.

According to the Weare police prosecutor, the girl’s parents pushed for Hadley’s prosecution.

Last month in a plea deal, Damon Hadley pleaded guilty to simple assault, ending the legal case against him. The girl’s father – Gilberto Soto, 38, of Weare -- has also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault.

“I didn’t learn about (these laws) until this all took place,” said Lisa Hadley. “I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this.”

Damon Hadley said he agreed to the ABC television interview so people would hear his side of the story.

It started on Monday, Sept. 10. Hadley said he was taking a friend to get his driver’s license.

On the way, they picked up his girlfriend at school and later the two went back to Hadley’s house and had sex, he said.

Trouble began when Hadley and the girl tried to sneak back into school later that day. He said officials knew the girl had skipped school and the two students were separated and questioned.

Hadley said he was later told to return to class.

When he left school that afternoon, he saw his girlfriend’s father and brother waiting in a car. Hadley said the two jumped out and ran toward him.

“I didn’t move at all, I just froze,” Hadley said. “I didn’t know what to do. Her dad hit me. I was on the ground, I just remember him standing on top of me and hitting me.”

“He kept saying, ‘Did you (have sex with) my daughter?’” Hadley said as Soto hit him, the man’s son stood behind him watching. Hadley’s mouth filled with blood.

As other students left the building, some kept walking, others stopped to stare. Eventually, one of Hadley’s friends came and took him to the nurse’s office while the school resource officer pulled Soto away.

Hadley was later treated at the hospital for cuts and bruises and received two stitches to his face.

When Hadley went to the police station the next day to document his injuries, he learned the girl he’d been dating since June - the one he’d professed his love to - had accused him of rape.

The couple had been seeing each other in secret, he said, because her parents didn’t allow her to date.

After Soto and Hadley both pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault, Soto was sentenced to 12 months in jail and Hadley to three months. Both sentences were suspended on condition of good behavior. Hadley said he’s not mad at his former girlfriend.

“There were parts when I was mad at her about the whole thing - why is she doing this, why is this happening to me,” Hadley said, then paused. “I don’t think I’m mad at her anymore. I hope she has a good life.”

He’s moved on, is dating someone new and supports his mother’s efforts to lobby both the state Legislature and local school boards.

Lisa Hadley wants schools to explain to students the laws regarding sex among minors.

She supports inviting police and lawyers into high schools to explain the consequences of engaging in underage sex.

“The work Lisa is doing and Damon is assisting her with, to educate the public, especially young people, is crucially important,” said Hadley’s lawyer, George Campbell, a Concord attorney with Robert Stein and Associates. “If the law is important enough to be enforced, it’s important enough that people be educated to not commit the act that’s been criminalized.”

Hadley will graduate from high school in the spring. He plans to take a year off and then pursue a degree in motorcycle mechanics at a technical college.

No jail time for father in school assault

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:37:00 GMT

By Michelle Kim

WEARE – The Weare man who attacked the 17-year-old boyfriend of his 15-year-old daughter pleaded no contest to a Class A misdemeanor assault and received a suspended sentence of one year in jail.

The 38-year-old Weare man, dressed in a suit, appeared at the Dec. 27 plea hearing at Goffstown District Court to enter a plea of no contest, accompanied by his wife and his attorney, Eric Wilson of Nashua, who declined to comment on the case.

With the plea, the defendant waived his right to appeal and to a trial by jury.

He was sentenced to one year in the Hillsborough County House of Corrections, suspended for a year contingent on good behavior and no contact with the victim for one year. He was also required to pay $50 in restitution to the victim’s family for out-of-pocket medical expenses from the victim’s injuries, which required two stitches.

The defendant asked about distance requirements, since he said his work took him on the road that passed the victim’s parent’s house. Judge Paul Lawrence said the no contact requirement did not have distance specifications.

Any violations of the terms of the agreement would allow the state to enforce the suspended sentence, according to Weare prosecutor Lt. Mark Bodanza.

The defendant was originally charged with a simple assault Class B felony, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment and a fine of up to $4,000.

Bodanza said he had consulted with County Attorney Marguerite Wageling and attorney Skip Campbell, representing the 17-year-old student, and said the deal was acceptable to the parties involved.

“Given the circumstances, it’s the best disposition we could have in this case,” said Bodanza.

The prosecution also offered a plea deal to the 17-year-old Henniker student, the terms of which they declined to disclose. Calls to Campbell’s office were not returned by press time.

The student had originally been charged with a Class A sexual assault misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

The student’s hearing was scheduled for Jan. 3.

The conviction closes the possibility of criminal cases against the Weare man regarding the incident, although the possibility of civil action remains for up to three years, said Bodanza.

Both the Weare man and the Henniker student can petition the court to have their convictions annulled after three years.

The Weare man was previously convicted in 1987 of two counts of simple assault misdemeanors in Hillsborough Superior Court for the assault of a 12-year-old and 10-year-old boy. He was 17 at the time and was sentenced to 30 days suspended jail time and paid a $200 fine.

The present cases originated when the Henniker teen and the 15-year-old girl, who had been seeing each other secretly since June because the girl was not allowed to date, both admitted to leaving school on Sept. 10 and having sex at the 17-year-old’s parents house.

The girl’s father attacked the boyfriend in the parking lot of John Stark Regional High School after being told by his daughter that she had been raped. The girl later said that statement was false.

The age for legal sexual consent is 16. Had the Henniker teen been more than three years older than the girl, he could have faced a felony charge.

In court – Man, student face charges after Weare school assault

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:51:00 GMT

BY MICHELLE KIM

The man who attacked the 17-year-old boyfriend of his 15-year-old daughter after learning the two had sex was arraigned and charged with a simple assault, Class B felony, in Goffstown District Court Tuesday, Oct. 16. The boyfriend was charged as an adult with a Class A misdemeanor on Oct. 9, according to Weare police.

The 38-year-old Weare man appeared in court with his wife and son but had no legal representation.

Answering the judge in soft, single word answers, he responded that he understood the terms.

Because he faced a felony charge, no plea was taken. A simple assault, Class B felony carries a maximum charge of 3.5 to 5 years in prison and $4,000 in fines. The man posted a personal recognizance bail of $500, which required him to have no contact with the daughter’s boyfriend, who lives in Henniker.

When asked by a reporter whether he would handle the situation in the same way again, given the chance, the father replied “No comment.”

The 17-year-old, a student at John Stark Regional High School, was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bail, according to Weare police.

As a 17-year-old in a criminal case, he is automatically treated as an adult, said Detective Lou Chatel, and is charged with a misdemeanor in accordance with state law because he is less than three years older than the girl.

Also by state law, consent cannot be given below the age of 16.

If convicted, the teen could face up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. He would not need to register as a sex offender but he would be required to list the misdemeanor on school and job applications for three years, after which he could petition the court to have it removed from his record, said Chatel.

The teen and his girlfriend admitted to leaving school the morning of Sept. 10 and having sex at a parent’s house. School officials noticed the girl’s absence and notified her parents after she failed to respond to a school-wide page. His mother also told police the two may have gone to his Weare residence, according to court documents. The students later returned to school through separate entrances.

The mother of the girl told police around 1 p.m. she wanted to file a report that her daughter had been raped and was advised to take her daughter for a medical examination and to return to the station for an interview.

At approximately 2:50 p.m., the girl’s father called police to inquire about the case. Ten minutes later, he assaulted the 17-year-old in the parking lot of the school as he was picking up his other children. The boyfriend suffered bruises and cuts that required two stitches to his face. The father was arrested without struggle and charged with simple assault Class B felony because of the extent of the injuries, said Chatel.

The teen had permission to leave school grounds, but the girl did not and she was given an in-school Saturday suspension for her unexcused absence. After the incident, she and her siblings transferred to another school.

A restraining order was taken out in the daughter’s name against the teen on Sept 21.

The couple had known each other since last June and had been seeing each other covertly because her parents did not allow her to date, according to the affidavit filed with court documents.

Prosecutor Lt. Mark Bodanza said the Weare Police Department had seen quite a few sexual assault investigations this year, where parents discovered teen couples had had sex. “But not to the extent where the father attacked the boy,” Bodanza said.

“The key here is that, although disturbing to the parent, they can’t take the law into their own hands,” said Chatel. “It just further traumatized the family.”

The teen is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 27 in Goffstown District Court.

The father is due to appear for a probable cause hearing Nov. 6 in Goffstown District Court.

Student attacked by girlfriend’s dad at school

Goffstown Editor — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:24:00 GMT

BY STEVEN ANDREWS

A 17-year-old student was attacked by his 15-year -old girlfriend’s father at John Stark High School as school let out after the man learned the pair had sex earlier in the day, according to police.

The Monday, Sept. 10, incident left the boy bruised and in need of stitches, while the father, from Weare, was charged with simple assault, a Class B felony.

The boy may soon face more punishment, as Deputy Chief of Police William Quigley said there is a “pretty good” chance he will face charges of sexual assault.

Since he is less than three years older than the girl, the charge will be a misdemeanor. It is not known whether he will be charged as a minor or adult.

According to Principal Michael Turmelle, the boy, who lives in Henniker, had permission to be out of school that day. When administrators noticed the girl was not at school, her parents were immediately notified.

The students met at one of the parents’ homes and had sex, police said. When confronted by her parents, the girl, who is underage, told them about the sexual encounter.

This led the father to the schoolyard confrontation, attacking the boy at about 1:30 p.m.

The attack only lasted about a minute, according to police, until school resource officer William Duffy was alerted by several students who witnessed the incident.

“We’re in lockdown all day long, there’s only one way into the school,” said Turmelle. “But at dismissal there’s a couple hundred parents picking up kids, I don’t think there’s anything anyone could do to prevent this.”

Police said the man was very cooperative when detained, and did not deny the attack. They also said they were unaware of any previous arrests or violence on his record.

His name has not been released, since it would make identifying his daughter easier, according to police.

Turmelle said that neither student has a history of unexcused absences, but the girl faces an in-school Saturday
suspension.