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BENNINGTON â The court affirmed on Tuesday the 12-years-to-life sentence of a former Bennington teacher convicted of sexually assaulting an underage student. The ruling came shortly after the defendant apologized for the first time in court for his crimes.
Morris David Nelson was convicted at trial of repeated aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault of a victim under 18 entrusted to his care. Authorities said he assaulted a 17-year-old girl during a period between 2015 and 2016, including a time when he was a math teacher at the Vermont School for Girls.
He was sentenced by Superior Judge William Cohen to serve 12 years to life in prison in 2018, based on the offense of repeated aggravated sexual assault.
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BENNINGTON â Despite refusing to cooperate in the proceedings, a Pownal man was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting a girl over three years.
Gary Pickard, 68, received the mandatory minimum sentence for repeated aggravated sexual assault on a child. He pleaded guilty to the felony offense last year, and later unsuccessfully tried to take back his plea.
He admitted to repeatedly molesting a preteen girl, whom he knew, inside a Pownal residence between the years 2014 and 2018.
The girl, who came to Bennington criminal court with her parents, testified that the abuse changed her. She described herself turning from a happy child into a depressed little girl.