Assault suspect jailed without bail
September 21, 2026 | By Lisa ScagliottiA man who had been camping along the Winooski River in Waterbury was ordered jailed without bail this week after pleading not guilty to felony charges of aggravated domestic assault, sexual assault, and unlawful restraint in state criminal court in Barre.
Sean Bacon, age 34 and listed as homeless, was arraigned in Vermont Superior Court on Sept. 14, before Judge Michael R. Kainen.
Bacon pleaded not guilty to the three charges that stemmed from an incident that took place overnight Sunday, Sept. 13, into the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 14, in a wooded area off Winooski Street between Hope Cemetery and the river.
Multiple Vermont State Police troopers provided information to the court in sworn affidavits. Trooper Robert Lemnah explained that the initial report to police came in shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Monday from an employee at the Kirby House group home on South Main Street. The staffer reported to police that a woman had shown up at the facility claiming to have been assaulted and showing signs of injuries to her face.
State police and Waterbury Ambulance responded. The victim was evaluated by EMS personnel and she gave police information about her assailant and his location, according to Lemnah’s account.
Several troopers then went to search the area near Hope Cemetery and the river and located Bacon on the walking path nearby. He was arrested, taken into custody, and transported to the Berlin barracks, police said.
In interviews with police in Waterbury and later at UVM Medical Center, the 45-year-old victim described in detail being physically and sexually assaulted over a period of approximately three hours in a tent that she had been sharing with Bacon. She told police she did not have a phone and managed to run away from the tent to Kirby House, where she was able to ask for help.
Trooper David Lambert wrote to the court that he and Detective Lt. Isaac Merriam interviewed Bacon at the Berlin barracks. In the summary of that interview, police said Bacon detailed an altercation with the victim in which he described physically assaulting the woman.
At the end of Bacon’s interview just before 3:30 a.m., a breath test found his blood-alcohol concentration to be .13%, Lambert noted. In Vermont, an individual is considered impaired to drive with a blood-alcohol level of .08%.
On Monday, Bacon pleaded not guilty to the three charges in state court. Judge Kainen ordered Bacon to be held without bail, and he is now lodged at Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury.
According to court documents, the sexual assault charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. Fines for each of the other charges are also up to $25,000. The aggravated domestic assault charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years; the unlawful restraint charge has a maximum sentence of 5 years.