WINDSOR — Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer pleaded not guilty to multiple sexual misconduct charges on Wednesday afternoon in Vermont Superior Court’s Rutland Division.
Palmer, a 39-year-old Windsor resident, is accused of paying or offering to pay women to watch him masturbate online and in person and then encouraging the women to lie about it to investigators.
Palmer faces two felony counts of obstruction of justice, two felony counts of aggravated stalking with a deadly weapon, a felony count of lewd and lascivious conduct and two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution.
Speaking to reporters after his arraignment, Palmer said his conduct had nothing to do with the sheriff’s department.
“This is my personal life, things I’ve done in my personal life,” he said. “And I just ask people out there not to have that reflect their views of the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department.”
Palmer said he plans to step away from day-to-day operations at the sheriff’s department but does not intend to resign.
Judge Cortland Corsones on Wednesday dismissed four other charges against Palmer for insufficient evidence. They included multiple counts of compounding a felony and false claims.
“I think it says a lot about the case that four … charges were dismissed before the judge took the bench,” Palmer said to the media. “Obviously… you see that I plead not guilty.”
Corsones ordered Palmer released on multiple conditions including mandatory court appearances, notification of address and phone number changes, not using any firearms, and not contacting the victims in the case.
Vermont State Police arrested Palmer on Tuesday at the sheriff’s office in Woodstock.
Three victims alleged misconduct
The charges against Palmer are the result of a “monthslong investigation” by state police that began with tips received last July through the Vermont Tip Line that alleged possible financial misconduct in the Windsor County Sheriff’s Office.
During the investigation, state police received additional anonymous tips pertaining to the financial situation and also information about Palmer’s alleged sexual misconduct.
The police affidavit outlines allegations against Palmer by three women, whom he interacted with in connection with his role as sheriff.
The first woman told investigators that Palmer paid her hundreds of dollars between September 2024 and July 2025 to watch him perform sex acts online and in person. She also alleged that after she cut off contact with him, Palmer started stalking her.
The second victim told investigators that she also received hundreds of dollars from Palmer over the first half of 2025 to watch him perform sexual acts online. That woman also told investigators that Palmer began stalking her when she blocked him from contacting her.
During the investigation, a third victim described to investigators a similar pattern of behavior with Palmer.
Both misdemeanor charges of soliciting prostitution carry a penalty of imprisonment of not more than one year or a fine of not more than $100 or both.
If found guilty on the felony count of lewd and lascivious conduct, Palmer faces a prison sentence of not more than five years or a fine of not more than $300 or both.
On the two felony stalking charges, the penalty is imprisonment of not more than five years or a fine of not more than $5,000 or both.
The two felony counts of obstruction of justice carry a penalty of imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to $5,000 or both.
Next steps
No future court dates have been set. However, on the venue, Palmer’s attorney Daniel Sedon argued Palmer’s next court appearance should be in Windsor County.
“That is where the alleged crimes occurred,” Sedon said. “That is where the witnesses are.”
Windsor, he added, is also “the most convenient venue.”
Representing the state in the case, Bennington County State’s Attorney Jared Bianchi said the state will be formulating a response as to the venue.
Corsones subsequently decided that the venue for Palmer’s next court appearance would be “back to Windsor, subject to any motions filed by the parties.”
Capt. Claude Weyant is now in charge of the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department “until things get straightened out through the legal system,” Weyant said in a phone interview shortly before Palmer’s arraignment in Rutland.
Weyant said he was not aware Palmer had been under criminal investigation prior to his arrest.
“The first thing was shock I guess,” Weyant said about his reaction.
One of the towns the department serves, Weathersfield, posted a statement on social media on Wednesday: “The Town Manager has communicated directly with leadership within the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department. We have been assured that there will be no interruption or impact to policing services in Weathersfield, and that coverage will continue as normal.”
The past
Palmer has had a long and at times notorious career in Upper Valley law enforcement.
A Windsor native, he dropped out of Stevens High School in 11th grade and later earned a GED.
At 19, Palmer joined the Claremont Police Department and later worked as an officer in Canaan. He joined the Air Force Reserve, where he did two deployments overseas in emergency management.
For several years, Palmer owned a gun shop in Windsor, and he long has had a side gig as a DJ, even after becoming sheriff, where he goes by the name DJ RPP.
By 2014, Palmer was working as a police officer in his hometown of Windsor. On Nov. 16 of that year, Palmer shot and wounded a man during a botched sting operation in the parking lot of Ferguson’s Auto.
At his trial on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment in September 2017, prosecutors painted Palmer as an overzealous cop who launched a poorly planned operation that resulted in an illegal shooting.
Palmer, who pleaded not guilty, contended he acted in self-defense as a suspect attempted to flee the scene. Palmer was acquitted in the four-day jury trial.
By then, Palmer had resigned from the Windsor Police Department and moved to Louisville, Ky., where he spent 18 months working in private security.
In January 2018, the Windsor Selectboard unanimously voted to pay the $62,000 in legal fees Palmer incurred as a defendant in the criminal case following the 2014 shooting.
Palmer later returned to the Upper Valley and police work. He was hired in 2018 as a police officer in Ludlow, Vt.
At Town Meeting in 2021, Palmer won a three-year term on the Windsor Selectboard. He served as board chairman in 2022 and was reelected to another three-year term in 2024.
The Windsor Selectboard was expected to discuss next steps for Palmer’s seat at a meeting Wednesday night, Town Manager Tom Marsh said on Wednesday. Selectboard Chairwoman Tera Howard and Vice Chairwoman Jeffrey Johnson both declined to comment Wednesday.
Run for sheriff
In the 2022 race for Windsor County sheriff, Palmer, a Democrat, defeated Republican incumbent Michael Chamberlain, who was 74 and had served in the office since the late 1970s.
Palmer ran on a campaign of growing the sheriff department’s law enforcement footprint. In a November 2022 interview, Palmer said he wanted sheriffs to get more involved in crime fighting.
“I want to expand the scope of the policing contract to better reflect the view I’m hearing, that people want higher-quality law enforcement in rural communities,” Palmer said.
Once elected, Palmer worked to evolve the Woodstock-based department into a “regional” policing agency on equal footing with the state police and municipal police departments.
He increased the contracts for the department to provide patrols from nine to 15 towns, including four in neighboring Orange County, and more than doubled the department’s staffing. The department even provided security at the annual Tunbridge World’s Fair.
Fresh controversies
But even as Palmer grew the department, there were fresh controversies before this week’s events.
One of Palmer’s hires, Bryan Jalava, is under investigation for his role in a fatal officer-involved-shooting in Springfield, Vt., last August. Jalava was on New Hampshire’s Laurie List of officers with documented credibility issues when Palmer hired him.
And last September, it was publicly revealed that 12 Windsor County Sheriff’s deputies did not have active appointment documents, known as commissions, on file with the Windsor County Clerk, as is required under Vermont law. Some of the deputies have been with the department for over a year.
Also, last September, Vermont State Police announced they were investigating the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department’s finances following an anonymous tip.
VSP’s criminal division was involved in the investigation into “a financial matter regarding the sheriff’s office,” VSP spokesperson Adam Silverman said in announcing the probe.
“I’m not hiding anything,” Palmer said in an interview on Sept. 5. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t do anything illegal. There’s nothing to hide.”
However, it is that investigation that ultimately culminated with Palmer’s arrest on Tuesday.