Former Belknap County sheriff’s deputy Ernest Justin Blanchette let a female inmate smoke cigarettes and use his cell phone during transports to and from prison “seemingly in exchange for sexual activity,” according to court documents filed in advance of his trial this week.
Hillsborough County prosecutor Michael Zaino said Blanchette’s behavior culminated when he raped the woman during another transport last summer.
Zaino and co-prosecutor Nicole Schultz-Price said jurors should be able to learn about more recent charges against the 36-year-old because they show a larger pattern of sexual assault.
The behavior is “intertwined with the charged offense because the acts were part of a single criminal episode and are evidence of coercion,” they wrote, adding that Blanchette “used his clear position of authority to pressure her to reciprocate with sexual favors or risk retaliation.”
Attorneys are awaiting a decision before Blanchette’s trial on the first of several charges opens Wednesday. Information about outside charges is often prohibited at trial.
Blanchette’s attorney, Brad Davis, argued that the information is inadmissible because Blanchette has yet to be convicted of the charges. Blanchette remains out on bail and has pleaded not guilty to both charges in this case.
A judge heard oral arguments Monday in Manchester, and approved two motions brought by Davis, who wants to discuss the accuser’s criminal record and play a portion of a telephone conversation she had with friend while incarcerated in which she reportedly says she wanted to have sex with Blanchette. Neither request was contested by prosecutors.
Blanchette resigned in August after being placed on administrative leave over claims he had sexual contact with the woman while driving her to the women’s prison in Goffstown last summer. Authorities claim he drove her to an abandoned home in Bedford and had intercourse with her inside.
Zaino and Schultz-Price said Blanchette’s first encounter with the woman occurred Sept. 18, 2014, during a trip to Aspen Dental in Tilton. She told police he let her use his cell phone on the way there, smoke two cigarettes once there, and then ride up front with him without handcuffs on the way back.
After the appointment, she said, according to the prosecutors, Blanchette began complaining about his marriage and the inmate told him she wished she could have sex with her boyfriend. Blanchette then made an abrupt turn down a dirt driveway to an abandoned home, she said, unbuckled his duty belt and began kissing her.
The woman told police she became uncomfortable and said, “Is this really happening?” to which Blanchette allegedly replied, “It could if you want it to.” She said she felt she couldn’t say no.
Blanchette let the woman smoke and ride without handcuffs on another transport later that year but did not initiate sex, allegedly because of an accident delay, the prosecutors wrote.
In addition to the two charges he will face at trial this week, Blanchette has been charged with 10 additional counts of sexual assault involving five inmates, authorities announced in February.
Stemming from those incidents, Blanchette faces nine counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of felonious sexual assault. Blanchette is accused of coercing the inmates into sexual activity, either with himself or each other.
(Jeremy Blackman can be reached at 369-3319, jblackman@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JBlackmanCM.)