Howard Pearl was a member of the New Hampshire House from 2016 to 2022 when he won election to the New Hampshire Senate. In 2014, he was charged with misdemeanor sexual assault, accused of touching a 15-year-old girl. When he ran for Senate, though, he said he had his day in court and the charges were dismissed. The charges were not adjudicated. The girl did not have her day in court.
Pearl’s attorney made a motion to dismiss, complaining that they prosecutor did not give them a copy of the taped interview until three days before the trial. However, the prosecutor argued that the defense knew about the recording, were give a summary of the interview and didn’t request the recording until three days before the trial even though they knew it existed since 2014. They believed that since they knew since 2014 and didn’t request until right before the trial, it was unreasonable to dismiss, but the judge dismissed.
According to court documents, he was alleged to have touched a fifteen-year-old girl. The case was dismissed in August 2015. The prosecutor made a motion to reconsider and that was denied.
Does that seem reasonable?
- Concord Monitor via Wayback: Former state Senate candidate Howard Pearl arrested on sexual assault charges
- Concord Monitor via Wayback: After failed 2014 state Senate bid and criminal charges dropped, Howard Pearl seeks House seat
Valley News
West Lebanon, New Hampshire · Sunday, August 10, 2014