Go to The Daily Review mobile
No charges will be filed against Prothonotary Sally Vaughn
Font size: [A] [A] [A]
e-mail this
share thisBY JAMES LOEWENSTEIN
TOWANDA - No charges will be filed against Bradford County Prothonotary Sally Vaughn, who was accused by an Ulster man of saying she wanted to harm other workers in the Bradford County Courthouse, the Bradford County district attorney said on Monday.
When interviewed by an investigator from the Bradford County District Attorney's Office over the weekend, Vaughn denied that she had made such a statement, Bradford County District Attorney Daniel Barrett said on Monday.
Security at the courthouse was increased on the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 10, after Dale Lafy of Ulster told police that day that Vaughn had said she wanted to harm other workers in the courthouse.
The heightened security measures were lifted by the time the courthouse opened for business two days later.
There is no evidence that Vaughn ever took any steps to harm anyone in the courthouse, the district attorney said on Monday.
"We have no information that any step was made to carry out any alleged threat," Barrett said.
"The statements from the two individuals (Lafy and Vaughn) do not match, and given those conflicts, among other reasons, nothing warrants any sort of filing of charges," Barrett said.
Asked what the other reasons were for the decision not to file charges against Vaughn, Barrett replied: "There would be an issue of whether the things that Mr. Lafy described (Vaughn as saying) would in and of themselves rise to the level (of a crime)."
"If the statements were made, some of the statements could be characterized as venting," Barrett explained.
The decision not to file charges against Vaughn "was not based on whether there was sufficient evidence to convict, but on whether there was sufficient evidence to conclude that a crime had been committed," Barrett said.
"At this point, there are no (additional) areas for inquiry, and this investigation has been concluded," he said.
Lafy had been dating Vaughn for a few months, the district attorney had said last week.
The statements made by Lafy "came after or during the ending of his relationship with Vaughn," the district attorney said on Monday.
At this time, the District Attorney's Office has no plans for taking any action against Lafy for making the statements to police, the district attorney said.
The Towanda Police Department, which had initially investigated the case, turned the case over to the District Attorney's Office last Thursday, Barrett said.
When reached on Monday, Vaughn declined comment, saying she had been advised by her attorney, Frank Niemiec of Towanda, not to speak to anyone about the matter.
Vaughn referred questions to Niemiec, who declined to comment, saying that he needed to preserve the confidentiality between himself and his client. He said he would need a written waiver from his client to speak to a reporter.
Vaughn could not be reached later on Monday.
Barrett on Monday again declined to provide specific details about what Lafy claimed that Vaughn had said.
James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or e-mail: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com.
8 posted comments