Former Burlington cop pleads guilty to simple assault

ST. ALBANS - The daughter of a former Burlington police officer stood next to Victims Advocate Kelly Woodward in a Franklin County courtroom Tuesday as Woodward read the girl's victim impact statement to the court.

The girl, who had accused her father, Nathan Harvey, 46, of assaulting her on several occasions, was too overcome with emotion to read the letter herself.

"I understand that bad things happen to good people, but I always wondered, why me?" Woodward read from the letter. "I always thought I did something wrong. I've come to the realization that I've done nothing wrong, and no one deserves this kind of pain. ... I've come from having no self-esteem and feeling I have no self-worth to believing I'm important and every man should treat me with respect and value me."

Harvey pleaded guilty during Tuesday's hearing in Vermont Superior Court in St. Albans to two misdemeanor counts of simple assault. He initially had been accused of domestic assault, including one felony count, and his case had been scheduled to begin a three-day trial on Wednesday. If Harvey had not settled the case, the court would have chosen a jury on Tuesday.

Harvey was sentenced to three months to two years in prison, which was all suspended, meaning he will serve probation instead for the duration. His conditions of probation state that he will be "on probation until further order from the Court, but no later than October 1, 2022."

Harvey's conditions also require him to stay at least 500 feet away from his oldest daughter, the victim, in addition to her home, school and place of employment. He is also barred from initiating contact with his other two daughters without prior written approval from his probation officer, court documents state.

Another condition requires that Harvey not live with or be the caretaker to children younger than 18 years old without permission from his probation officer. He must also disclose the conditions and conviction to any person with whom he begins a romantic relationship, if that person has children younger than 18.

During the hearing, Harvey turned to his daughters saying, "I love you unconditionally." Harvey left the courthouse without comment Tuesday.

Harvey's lawyer, Brooks McArthur, said after the hearing that he believed the resolution was "very fair."

"He had significant risk if he went to trial with a felony," McArthur said of his client. "This will allow him and his family to heal and hopefully reconcile."

Harvey will also be required to undergo a substance abuse assessment, and he is banned from having or consuming alcohol. Franklin County Deputy State's Attorney Diane Wheeler told the court that Harvey appeared to become dependent on alcohol after undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor.

Wheeler said that family members of Harvey said that after his surgery, his "personality changed."

The Swanton man had served with the Burlington Police Department since 2008. He resigned from his post last April after charges were brought the prior month. The charges stemmed from several incidents between September and December 2014.

The initial report to law enforcement had been made by an anonymous person, police have said.

Harvey had initially said to police he thought the accusations were part of a ploy by his wife to get full custody of their children during divorce proceedings. His wife, Shannon Harvey, also of Swanton, told the Burlington Free Press on Tuesday the couple is still separated and the divorce is not final.

Shannon Harvey said both in court and in a later conversation with a reporter that she was hoping her children and her husband could eventually be reunited and that he will "get sober." She said the past year while the case has been pending has been one of the hardest for the family financially and emotionally.

"Our hope is that we're just able to move on and start the healing process," Shannon Harvey said after Tuesday's hearing. "No one wants this for their family."

She added, "All along, we just wanted him to take accountability for his actions. That was the most important thing for my daughter, just for her father to be accountable for what he did and tell the truth. The girls still love their father, and a trial and reliving it would have been difficult."

Editor's note - This story was modified from its initial version to include the following: A probation officer may grant Nathan Harvey permission to live with or be the caretaker of a child younger than 18, but he is otherwise barred from doing so through his probation conditions. The permission caveat was not clarified in the original version of the story. 

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www,twitter.com/LizMurraySMC.