BRATTLEBORO -- A former Windham County Sheriff's captain pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge of second-degree unlawful restraint of a person under the age of 18.
The charges follow a three-month investigation by Vermont State Police after allegations that former Capt. Heidi Nelson, 42, of Westminster, had a relationship with a 17-year-old student in Nelson's law enforcement class at the Windham Regional Career Center.
The only charge alleges that Nelson took the student to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., without permission from the teen's mother.
According to an affidavit from Detective Sgt. Ingrid Jonas, the teen had allegedly lied to the teen's mother before the trip and both the student and Nelson lied after the trip about who the teen went with.
Nelson's attorney, Bettina Buehler, argued that Nelson did not know about the lie beforehand and should not be held accountable.
The teen told Jonas about trouble at home and "just wanted to get away." The student also reported that there had been no sexual relationship between the two.
E-mails from Nelson taken from the student's account allegedly show Nelson telling the student, "I don't regret anything we have been through ... only that I lied to your Mom. At the time I felt it was the right thing to do. Nothing has changed, my feelings have not changed."
Nelson was released on conditions Thursday that she not contact or abuse the teen. She could face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $25,000 or both if found guilty.
A press release from Sheriff Keith Clark announced that Nelson had resigned June 16.
"We didn't announce that she had resigned out of concern that it might impact the criminal investigation," Clark said.
He said Nelson did not give a reason for her resignation.
Buehler said that Clark's innuendoes of sexual conduct in his initial press release in April led to Nelson's resignation. "It was a breach of trust."
Clark said the department would need to heal after the investigation and charges.
"It has been difficult," he said. While the Sheriff's Department has deputies working in the Windham District Court, they had not known the arraignment was coming Thursday or whether there would be charges, Clark said.
"It kind of caught them off guard. I don't think any of them expected this as an outcome," he said. "They all saw her just as Capt. Nelson, a person you can turn to. There's probably going to need to be some healing within the department."
Nelson was the highest ranking deputy in the department, the second-in-command, and has worked in law enforcement for more than 20 years. She worked for the Vermont State Police before coming to the Sheriff's Department.
Clark thanked the public for their patience during the investigation and said he felt sure that, while some may have questions, "I think they're going to see this is about one former employee and not the organization as a whole."
He added that he could not say what really happened yet. "We've just heard the (Vermont State Police) side. We haven't heard Heidi Nelson's version of events."
Nicole Orne can be reached at norne@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 277.
