By Mike Donoghue, Senior Correspondent
A state judge has found probable cause to file five more criminal counts against Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer, including charges of extortion and lewd and lascivious conduct, and three counts of soliciting for prostitution.
State prosecutor Jared Bianchi of Bennington tried to file 10 more charges this week, but Judge Corsones said he was able to find a legal basis for only five of the new charges.
The new charges stem from information developed when two more women came forward to file claims of sexual misconduct against Palmer after he was initially arraigned in late January, according to Vermont State Police.
The charges maintain Palmer paid a woman on multiple occasions to participate in sex acts, and that he sent unsolicited sexual material to another woman, state police said.
Palmer, 39, of Windsor, could not be reached for comment.
He is expected to be arraigned on the new charges during his next hearing in Vermont Superior Court in Rutland. No date has been set.
Bianchi filed on Tuesday a new affidavit from State Police Detective Sgt. David Robillard outlining the new findings. Judge Corsones, on Wednesday morning, agreed to allow five new charges to proceed.
Corsones rejected two counts of compounding a felony by offering money to somebody aware of a felony crime to conceal it, court papers note. The two incidents reportedly had happened between Jan. 1 and Aug. 19, 2025, the records show.
The judge also rejected misdemeanor charges for two claims between Jan. 1 and Aug. 19, 2025, records show. The fifth rejected charge was for an extortion count between Jan. 1, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2024. The claim was using nonconsensual recordings of a woman engaging in commercial sex acts to coerce further sexual interactions, records show.
Bianchi declined to comment this week on both the new charges and those that the judge rejected. He said any comment would be made through legal filings or in court.
Palmer has stepped away from running the sheriff’s department while fighting the charges. He has placed Capt. Claude Weyant, a longtime former chief deputy, in control.
Weyant said the department is continuing to do all its expected work, including transporting prisoners, serving court paperwork, fulfilling patrol contracts, providing security at courthouses.
“We are really working hard,” Weyant said on Wednesday.
He said the department’s finances are improving.
The initial investigation into Palmer had started with concerns about the financial status of the department in recent years. Some of those questions remain, but the bills are being paid.
Now-retired Sheriff D. Michael Chamberlain left about $1.3 million in earned income for the department three years ago. Palmer said in his first year, he used a large amount of that money to buy fully equipped police cruisers, body and dash cameras, laptops, and other needed items.
“The General Fund is growing,” Weyant said. “Things are moving in the right direction.”
Weyant said two local towns have indicated recently they want the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department to increase their contracted patrol hours in the new fiscal year on July 1.
The town of Hartland wants to increase the 128 hours of patrol each month to 160 hours each month, Weyant said.
He said Bethel, which has 144 hours of patrols each month, is talking about an additional 12 or 15 hours a month.
