White River Junction
Joel Picard, who was accused of inappropriately touching three young girls between 2012 and 2016 at the day care during nap or play time, has been diagnosed with dementia and his mental and physical health are both declining, according to a defense motion filed in his now-closed case in Windsor Superior Court.
The resolution didn’t sit well with Deputy Windsor County State’s Attorney Heidi Remick, who prosecuted the case.
“This is an unsatisfactory and deeply disappointing result for the state and, more importantly, for the children and families directly impacted by these cases,” Remick wrote in the document she filed in court called a “notice of (reluctant) dismissal.”
Meanwhile, an investigation into the day care found that Mary Picard was operating it without a required permit, state officials said on Monday.
“The investigation did show that the day care in question was providing care for more than the statutorily allowed number of families and was sent a cease and desist letter from the Child Development Division of the Department for Children and Families,” said Luciana DiRuocco, the public records officer for DCF, the division that oversees day care licensing.
The letter meant Mary Picard could “no longer provide care to the amount of children they were caring for without being registered or licensed,” DiRuocco said. As of Monday, the day care wasn’t registered or licensed with the state.
Remick, the prosecutor, fears for the safety of other children who may come in contact with Joel Picard.
“I can’t say with confidence that if this person is around children that he might (not) engage in these behaviors,” she said in a telephone interview on Monday.
Remick said it’s upsetting that she can’t give everyone that reassurance, as well as give the alleged victims and their families closure.
If Picard’s competency ruling had been tied to his mental health and not a medical condition, Remick said, she would have more confidence because he would be under the supervision of the state Department of Mental Health.
But there is no agency to provide a supervision-type service based on a medical condition, she said. It falls to Picard’s family.
“I would like to hope that his family understands the situation better than they did before and he is not going to be left alone with children,” she said. “I have representation from his family that they will supervise him, but that is not the same as having probation conditions …”
Picard’s case isn’t the first of its kind, Remick said. A couple of years ago, the Legislature attempted to address similar cases that “fall through the cracks,” but fell short of doing so, she said.
In her notice of dismissal, she made another plea to lawmakers.
“Given the collective failure of government to address the risk posed not only by (Picard) but many similarly-situated defendants, the state urges the legislative branch to take up the task of finding a solution that better protects victims of sexual and domestic violence and the community at large,” she wrote.
Messages left for Mary Picard and Joel Picard’s attorney, Sandra Nelson, weren’t returned.
The case came to light in March 2016, when a young girl at the day care repeatedly told her parents she didn’t want to go to the Picard house. The girl told investigators Joel Picard would “tickle” her “all over” during nap time, according to affidavits written by Vermont State Police Detective Trooper Daniel Hall.
Police charged Picard with one count of lewd and lascivious conduct in March and issued a news release soon after. Parents of other children at the day care then questioned their children and two other girls came forward, resulting in a total of three charges against Picard.
He pleaded not guilty to those accusations, and a judge released him on conditions.
Picard had no recent criminal history.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.