Bethel
Joel Picard, 81, pleaded not guilty in Windsor Superior Court last week to three felony counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.
Police allege Picard inappropriately touched three young girls during either nap time or playtime between 2012 and March 2016 at the Picards’ home on Gilead Brook Road.
Vermont State Police Detective Trooper Daniel Hall said Mary Picard’s day care currently isn’t operating. He said the day care was an in-home operation without a business name.
The day care wasn’t licensed, said Luciana DiRuocco, the public records officer for the Vermont Department for Children and Families, the division that oversees day care licensing.
It is unclear whether it needed to be licensed.
“The investigations are ongoing,” DiRuocco said. “We may have more information in the next couple of weeks.”
Reached by telephone on Wednesday, 64-year-old Mary Picard declined to comment on the allegations against her husband or provide information about her day care business.
Police in March cited Joel Picard into court on one count of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child, a felony-level offense he pleaded not guilty to that month.
Further investigation by DCF, the Child Advocacy Center at The Family Place in Norwich and Vermont State Police led law enforcement to charge Picard this month with two additional felonious lewd and lascivious conduct charges.
Picard on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to both of those charges. A judge released him on conditions, including that he have no contact with the alleged victims or unsupervised contact with minors under age 16, with the exception of family members.
“Mr. Picard has pleaded not guilty and he maintains his innocence in all of these matters,” his attorney, Elizabeth Kruska, said on Wednesday, declining further comment.
According to police affidavits written by Hall, an investigation began after a young girl repeatedly told her parents she didn’t want to go to day care at the Picards’ house. The girl told investigators Joel Picard would “tickle” her “all over” during nap time.
Once police felt there was sufficient evidence to charge Picard with one count of lewd and lascivious conduct in March, they issued a news release to media outlets and other organizations.
Two parents of young girls who attended Picard’s day care said they saw the release and questioned their daughters, according to the affidavits. Both of those girls said Picard inappropriately touched them during playtime, Hall wrote.
Court documents show at least seven children had been in Mary Picard’s day care between 2012 and March of this year.
Windsor County Deputy State’s Attorney Heidi Remick, who is prosecuting the case, said she couldn’t say just how many children have received day care services at the Picards’ home.
“It fluctuated,” Remick said.
Joel Picard told investigators he sometimes helped take care of the children. In an interview, he denied having inappropriately touched them, according to the affidavits.
He has no recent criminal history.
A status conference is scheduled for June 21. A first offense of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.