Former Burlington cop denies sexual abuse of child

A former Burlington police officer has denied an accusation that he inappropriately touched a 12-year-old girl during a New Years Eve party in 2016. 

Arthur Cyr, 51, of Bristol appeared in Vermont Superior Court in Middlebury on Monday to answer a charge of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child. He and lawyer David Williams declined comment on their way out of court. Attempts to reach Cyr's other lawyer, Brooks McArthur, were not immediately successful.

Cyr served with the Burlington Police Department from October 1995 until March 2016, according to a statement from Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo last month. For almost two years, he served as the sergeant in charge of the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations, a county-wide multi-agency police unit responsible for investigating child abuse.

More:Former Burlington police officer accused of sexual abuse of child

Accuser: Alleged abuse occurred in suspect's bedroom

Police with the Northwest Unit for Special Investigations began their probe of Cyr in December after the girl had reported the alleged abuse to her school guidance counselor, according to an affidavit.

The Burlington Free Press does not identify people who say they are the victims of sex crimes without their permission.

The girl later told police that the incident occurred when she and her family — close friends of Cyr's — attended a New Years Eve party at Cyr's Bristol home. She said she and her sister had left the main party in the living room and had gone into Cyr's bedroom to watch Spongebob Squarepants on television, the affidavit states. 

The girl said Cyr came into the room, closed the door and laid down between the two girls, putting his arms around them. During this encounter, Cyr groped her breast multiple times and then touched her pubic area, she told police. The girl said that when her mother entered the room, Cyr stopped and the girl and her sister left to get ready for bed.

The mother told police she did not see anything that night or suspect anything inappropriate had occurred until her daughter told her in December 2018 about the incident. She said the family had viewed Cyr as another family member, the affidavit states.

The girl said she had seen Cyr drinking alcohol earlier in the night, the affidavit states. She said she has avoided conversation with Cyr since the incident.

The girl's mother and mother's boyfriend reported that the girl had become more withdrawn since the incident and had avoided contact with Cyr the last few times the families got together, according to the affidavit. The girl's mother said she had initially attributed this to teenager behavior, but said knowing what she knows now, that the alleged lewd conduct could be the reason for the girl's modified behavior.

Former Burlington cop was confronted about the allegations

Police obtained a warrant to surreptitiously record a phone conversation between Cyr and the girl's mother when she confronted him about the allegations. Cyr denied touching the woman's daughter inappropriately.

"The defendant said that he was adamant that he didn't do it and was starting to get upset because he was getting accused of something he claimed that he did not do," the affidavit states. "The defendant said that he felt '(expletive) sick' and advised that he felt like he wanted to throw-up at this moment."

Police later interviewed Cyr twice — the first time at his home, and then again with McArthur, his lawyer, present, the affidavit shows. Cyr initially told police that he never touched the girl inappropriately, and that the lights were on and door open to his bedroom at the time. He said anyone in the kitchen would have been able to see inside the bedroom.

Cyr said he did lay down between the two girls, and he fell asleep with them resting their heads on his arms, which were stretched out wide around him. He told police he had been drinking alcohol, but not to the point where he wouldn't remember the night, police wrote in the affidavit.

"The defendant explained that 'you don't (expletive) do something like that and not remember,'" the affidavit states. 

In the follow-up, Cyr told police that he "purposefully" left the door open and lights on prior to going into his bedroom. Cyr also did not refer to the girl by name in the second interview and said the girl had joined him and her sister on the bed rather than the other way around.

"I believe this is the defendant trying to minimize the fact that he got into bed with two underage juvenile females with the intentions of 'going to sleep,'" Vermont State Police Trooper Richard Stepien wrote in the affidavit.

Former cop prohibited from contact with juvenile girls

Judge Alison Arms ordered that Cyr be released on conditions, including that he have no contact with the female accuser or any girls younger than 18. He is also prohibited from going to places where people younger than 18 typically congregate, unless he is accompanied by a third party adult.

Several other former Burlington police officers, including Thomas Radford and former Deputy Chief Andi Higbee, attended the hearing in support of Cyr.

If found guilty, Cyr faces a possible sentence of two to 15 years in prison.

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.