Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against ex-Franklin police officer and prosecutor Christopher Ahern, who was accused of stalking a former intimate partner in Concord, trespassing and receiving stolen property.
Ahern’s trial began last week and was expected to continue Tuesday afternoon. Assistant Hillsborough County Attorney Andrew Oullette, who prosecuted Ahern, said an agreement had been reached and all charges were dropped.
“I can’t discuss the details of the agreement,” Oullette said when reached by phone Tuesday afternoon.
Ahern did not plead to any charges as part of a deal.
Ahern’s attorney, Charles Keefe, also declined to share details of the agreement.
“Chris has maintained his innocence throughout this,” Keefe said. “He’s happy with the resolution and he looks forward to moving on.”
The stalking charges stemmed from two incidents where Ahern allegedly entered his former intimate partner’s home in the middle of the night on June 2 and later attempted to enter the Concord residence on July 26. Ahern and the woman were living separately at the time.
Concord police Lt. Sean Ford said the department was not consulted by the prosecutor or provided an explanation for why the charges were dropped or the details of the confidential agreement. He noted that those types of resolutions are typically reserved for civil matters.
“We are unaware of the details, and we were told that we’re not allowed to know all of the details – and that’s very concerning to us,” Ford said in an interview. “We’re talking about a police officer and prosecutor, and the public is going to think that if we’re not transparent there is something going on behind the scenes that shouldn’t be. There needs to be accountability.”
Without knowing the conditions, Ford questioned how police officers are supposed to protect the victim or enforce the court’s order.
Hillsborough County Attorney Michael Conlon, whose office handled the case because of the potential conflict of interest in Merrimack County, said confidential agreements may be reached for a variety of reasons, including if there is a juvenile matter or security concern, or sometimes at the request of a victim.
He declined to say which, if any, of those conditions applied to this case, or discuss what led to the sudden resolution.
“The case was handled similar to how any other case would be handled and there was no special consideration given to the handling of the case based on the parties involved,” Conlon said.
During the trial, which began last Thursday, Concord police Sgt. Robert Buelte testified the department’s investigation was “restricted to command staff.”
Keefe, Ahern’s lawyer, asked Buelte if it was a “secret” investigation because of Ahern’s public profile as a criminal prosecutor. Buelte said it was kept at the command level to protect the woman’s privacy.
“She knew people at the police department and was concerned people would find out,” he said.
Ouellette told Judge Michael Alfano that Ahern had repeatedly entered the woman’s Concord home without her permission. Ouellette used a laptop to show the judge police footage from July that captures Ahern trying to enter the home through doors and windows after the locks had been changed.
Concord police had installed cameras with the woman’s permission just hours before Ahern was captured on film and subsequently arrested. The woman told police that she did not give him permission to go into her home that day.
When Ahern was arrested, he told police that he “hadn’t done anything wrong and she hadn’t said he couldn’t be there,” Buelte testified.
The woman testified under oath for more than two hours during the trial. She described multiple arguments they had in person and via text messages that led to her separation from Ahern and, later, police involvement.
She said she never wanted Ahern to lose his job and “didn’t want to humiliate Chris.”
“I didn’t want anything bad to happen,” she said. “I just wanted it to stop.”
Ahern, of Epsom, had served as Franklin’s prosecutor since 2009 and worked as a part-time officer with the Franklin Police Department, beginning in 2013. He faced two stalking charges and a charge of receiving stolen property, all misdemeanors. He was also charged with criminal trespassing, a violation.
Ahern’s last day with the city was July 27, the day after he was arrested. Franklin City Manager Judie Milner told the Monitor in October that Ahern chose to resign.