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Lawyer: Sarah George failed to deputize, child abuse case should be dropped

By Mike Donogue, Vermont News First

The lawyer for the husband of a top state prosecutor wants child abuse charges dismissed against his client because the office of Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George failed to properly deputize independent prosecutors, court records show.

Attorney Frank Twarog has filed a motion in Vermont Superior Court seeking dismissal of felony charges for child luring and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child against Kane Smart, husband to Sally Adams, the chief deputy state’s attorney under Sarah George.

Kane Smart, husband of Sarah George’s deputy prosecutor

George apparently asked Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian C. Sullivan and one of his deputies, Daron Raleigh, in January 2025 to investigate and possibly prosecute any charges in the case — if warranted — to avoid any potential claim of conflict of interest against the Chittenden County office.

Vermont State Police, in coordination with the Vermont Department for Children and Families, received an intake report on Jan. 8, 2025, regarding allegations of sexual abuse that were reported to have occurred on multiple occasions in 2021.

State Police Detective Sgt. Lauren Ronan from Shaftsbury was brought in to investigate the case and eventually submitted a probable cause affidavit for two felony charges against Smart, 45, of South Burlington.

The charges are linked to his time as a girls soccer coach at Winooski High School.

Twarog of Catamount Law, filed a motion last month saying his investigation showed that George’s office never sent the proper paperwork, including an oath of office for Sullivan and his deputies to Chittenden County Clerk Beth Royer in Burlington. Twarog did not respond to a request for interviews.

Court records show Twarog has an email from Royer saying she never received the paperwork for Sullivan and his two deputies.

She initially confirmed that when reached by Vermont News First.

“I can only file appointments that I receive…” Chittenden County Clerk Beth A. Royer told Vermont News First in an email early Thursday afternoon.

”I can’t speak to whatever step was missed on the other end of the filing process. Any and all appointments I receive from the state’s attorneys office, I file as soon as they are received,” Royer said in the email.

Royer did not respond to multiple phone and email messages seeking an interview.

When questioned in a subsequent email late Thursday, the County Clerk sent Vermont News First a list of 29 persons that she said were designated as deputy state’s attorneys by Sarah George between April 2020 and April 2026 that were properly filed with the county.  This time Sullivan and two deputies were listed as filing the paperwork in January 2025.

The issue remains confusing enough that Judge John Pacht, after reviewing legal arguments from both sides, said he believes a court hearing is needed.

The two sides will square off at 11 a.m. Monday at the Judge Edward J. Costello Courthouse in Burlington.

It is unclear what impact, if any, the missing paperwork could have on other appointments for deputy prosecutors serving in Chittenden County.

Sarah George has not responded in recent days to inquiries from Vermont News First about the case.

Twarog’s filing notes that an office assistant for George insisted she mailed the proper paperwork to the civil division at Vermont Superior Court on Main Street.

The clerk for the civil division in Chittenden County and Royer are two different people.  They both have offices at the Main Street courthouse.

Assistant Judge Connie Cain Ramsay, who helps oversee the county clerk, said Friday that she had not heard about the paperwork issue.  She said Royer was not working Friday.

Last year the Vermont Standard in Woodstock reported that Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer failed to properly file the commissions with the county clerk that allow his deputies to carry out their duties, including making arrests.

Palmer has since corrected the paperwork issue by getting his deputies to file new documents.

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Lawyer: Sarah George failed to deputize, child abuse case should be dropped

By Mike Donogue, Vermont News First

The lawyer for the husband of a top state prosecutor wants child abuse charges dismissed against his client because the office of Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George failed to properly deputize independent prosecutors, court records show.

Attorney Frank Twarog has filed a motion in Vermont Superior Court seeking dismissal of felony charges for child luring and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child against Kane Smart, husband to Sally Adams, the chief deputy state’s attorney under Sarah George.

Kane Smart, husband of Sarah George’s deputy prosecutor

George apparently asked Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian C. Sullivan and one of his deputies, Daron Raleigh, in January 2025 to investigate and possibly prosecute any charges in the case — if warranted — to avoid any potential claim of conflict of interest against the Chittenden County office.

Vermont State Police, in coordination with the Vermont Department for Children and Families, received an intake report on Jan. 8, 2025, regarding allegations of sexual abuse that were reported to have occurred on multiple occasions in 2021.

State Police Detective Sgt. Lauren Ronan from Shaftsbury was brought in to investigate the case and eventually submitted a probable cause affidavit for two felony charges against Smart, 45, of South Burlington.

The charges are linked to his time as a girls soccer coach at Winooski High School.

Twarog of Catamount Law, filed a motion last month saying his investigation showed that George’s office never sent the proper paperwork, including an oath of office for Sullivan and his deputies to Chittenden County Clerk Beth Royer in Burlington. Twarog did not respond to a request for interviews.

Court records show Twarog has an email from Royer saying she never received the paperwork for Sullivan and his two deputies.

She initially confirmed that when reached by Vermont News First.

“I can only file appointments that I receive…” Chittenden County Clerk Beth A. Royer told Vermont News First in an email early Thursday afternoon.

”I can’t speak to whatever step was missed on the other end of the filing process. Any and all appointments I receive from the state’s attorneys office, I file as soon as they are received,” Royer said in the email.

Royer did not respond to multiple phone and email messages seeking an interview.

When questioned in a subsequent email late Thursday, the County Clerk sent Vermont News First a list of 29 persons that she said were designated as deputy state’s attorneys by Sarah George between April 2020 and April 2026 that were properly filed with the county.  This time Sullivan and two deputies were listed as filing the paperwork in January 2025.

The issue remains confusing enough that Judge John Pacht, after reviewing legal arguments from both sides, said he believes a court hearing is needed.

The two sides will square off at 11 a.m. Monday at the Judge Edward J. Costello Courthouse in Burlington.

It is unclear what impact, if any, the missing paperwork could have on other appointments for deputy prosecutors serving in Chittenden County.

Sarah George has not responded in recent days to inquiries from Vermont News First about the case.

Twarog’s filing notes that an office assistant for George insisted she mailed the proper paperwork to the civil division at Vermont Superior Court on Main Street.

The clerk for the civil division in Chittenden County and Royer are two different people.  They both have offices at the Main Street courthouse.

Assistant Judge Connie Cain Ramsay, who helps oversee the county clerk, said Friday that she had not heard about the paperwork issue.  She said Royer was not working Friday.

Last year the Vermont Standard in Woodstock reported that Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer failed to properly file the commissions with the county clerk that allow his deputies to carry out their duties, including making arrests.

Palmer has since corrected the paperwork issue by getting his deputies to file new documents.