By Sandra Bradley
The Union Leader
BRENTWOOD, N.H. — A jury will be able to hear statements that an EMT made to state police before he was charged with misdemeanor sexual assault for allegedly touching a female patient.
Chief Justice Tina Nadeau rejected arguments by William Donovan III - a former state trooper - that his rights were violated when he was twice questioned by state police at the Troop A barracks last July and August, according to a court order.
Donovan, who worked for Rockingham Ambulance, is accused of touching the 18-year-old woman on June 11, 2010, while she was riding in back of an ambulance from Exeter Hospital to Hampstead Hospital.
Donovan, 50, of Tuftonboro also allegedly made the woman remove some of her clothes while he checked for a pulse and “contraband,” according to prosecutors.
He is facing three counts of misdemeanor sexual assault and two counts of simple assault.
Defense lawyers argued that Donovan spoke to state troopers while he was in police custody, which violated his right against self-incrimination.
Nadeau rejected Donovan’s claim, and found that he knew the police barracks where he was questioned well because he once worked there as a state trooper. Donovan worked in law enforcement from 1982 to 1991, according to court papers.
“During both interviews, (Donovan) was very talkative, cooperative, and calm,” Nadeau wrote. “Although he mentioned that he was tired during the second interview, he did not state that he was so tired that he wanted to discontinue the interview.”
Donovan arrived and left from each interview on his own, Nadeau added.
He “was in complete charge of the interviews, and was eager to demonstrate his expertise and why lay people have little understanding of his role in providing patient services,” Nadeau wrote.
Nadeau’s decision will allow county prosecutors to use his statements at his trial set to begin in November.
The decision came after Nadeau heard two hours of sworn testimony in August by state police Sgt. Jill Rockey, who acknowledged that Donovan has faced allegations of inappropriate touching in the past.
No criminal charges were filed in those cases.
Donovan was interviewed by Manchester police in 2003 for a similar allegation by another female, Assistant County Attorney Jacqueline Docko wrote.
While Donovan was a student EMT, he was accused of inappropriately touching a patient in his care, according to Docko.
A grand jury handed down the misdemeanor charges against Donovan last September.
His lawyer, Joseph Mattson, has argued for the woman’s medical records to be reviewed by a judge for possible use for the defense, but nearly all of those motions have been filed under seal.
Donovan could face up to a year in county jail if he is convicted on the misdemeanor sexual assault charge.
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