Norman McAllister was a Vermont state senator who was accused of soliciting sex from women who worked for him or rented from him. One of the women who accused him died before trial, one of the women lied about testimony unrelated to her allegation, so the case centered on one remaining woman. First he pled guilty in a plea deal, but a judge allowed him to withdraw his plea. He was found guilty of improper acts and acquitted on two charges. The jury acquitted him of coercing sex but found him guilty of arranging for her to have sex with someone else to pay her electric bill.
His conviction was reversed, so he got a new trial that ended in a mistrial thanks to a juror watching a news story about the trial. In his fourth round, he was acquitted and is listed in the Exonerations database.
His lawyers did a great job of blaming the victim and using her mental illness to discredit her. They also said she should not be believed because she had an abusive husband. The thing is, there is a recording of his admission to the woman that he coerced her and hurt her.
His exoneration rests on the claim that the sex was consensual, ignoring that the woman was both an employee and a renter, so though he was exonerated of coercion, he still is a sexual predator who had sex with a person over whom he had substantial power as her landlord and employer.
- Burlington Free Press: Former Sen. McAllister strikes plea deal in sex case
- Burlington Free Press: McAllister guilty of improper acts, acquitted of sexual assault
- Burlington Free Press: McAllister tenant sex conviction overturned, new trial ordered
- Vermont Digger: McAllister found not guilty in latest trial on prostitution charge
- National Registry of Exonerations: Norman McAllister
