A Sidney man serving 50 years in prison for child sexual abuse will have his case reconsidered following a Thursday ruling by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court that vacates his guilty plea and some of the findings against him during prosecution.
Eric Bard, 25, of Sidney, who is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl he was babysitting and recording it with his cellphone, pleaded guilty in 2014 to 21 charges, including sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a minor. Because of the guilty plea, there was no trial and Bard was sent to prison.
However, a law court decision released Thursday found that a judge and the prosecutor in the original case held an improper meeting without Bard’s attorney present, leading to a violation of Bard’s due process rights.
“To be clear, no adjudication or determination of actual bias has occurred and we do not reach any such finding here,” reads the decision. “Rather, we base our decision on the defendant’s due process rights implicated by the potential for bias and the importance of public trust and confidence in the procedures employed by the courts.”
During the pre-trial motions period of the case, Justice Donald Marden met with Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney for a conversation about whether Maloney made an ethical error when she contacted two pretrial services agencies about supervising Bard while he was released on bail. Bard’s defense team was not notified about the meeting until later, when Marden assured them that the facts of the case were not discussed during the meeting. Bard’s attorney did not request a transcript of the meeting.
However, the law court found that the discussion involved issues related to Bard’s competency for trial; suggestions from Marden about how Maloney might proceed with the case; and Maloney making comments about her belief that Bard was guilty and how emotionally difficult it is to prosecute cases involving child sexual abuse.
Marden later ruled against Bard on motions to dismiss the case, suppress evidence allegedly found in Bard’s home as well as finding him mentally competent to enter the guilty plea. Thursday’s decision vacates those decisions, as well as Bard’s guilty plea.
“On these facts, we are persuaded that Bard was deprived of the fair process to which he was entitled,” reads the ruling.
Attorney Gina Yamartino, who is now representing Bard, said in a prepared statement that “every defendant has the right to an impartial judge.”
“The court was persuaded that our client was deprived of the fair process to which he was entitled,” said Yamartino. “A due process infirmity arose when the trial court held an ex parte conference on a subject directly related to the charges against our client.”
Yamartino declined to answer any questions about the case, including what her next step in the case will be. Maloney’s office also declined to comment.
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