Attempting to uphold the convictions of two men sentenced for sexual crimes in New Bedford District Court, the Bristol County District Attorney’s office says it found “no evidence” of an inappropriate relationship between a prosecutor and judge presiding over their cases.
The DA’s statement did not address why Douglas Darnbrough, formerly the top judge in New Bedford District Court, was transferred and then quietly resigned amidst an investigation that he was carrying on an affair with an assistant district attorney.
Allegations of the affair first surfaced last fall, when an “anonymous tipster” began circulating letters detailing the alleged affair between Darnbrough and the prosecutor. Shortly after the letters surfaced, the state’s Trial Court launched an investigation, according to the DA’s office. Darnbrough was then transferred to Plymouth District Court, where he served for less than a month before he tendered his resignation.
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“It may be inferred that the Trial Court moved Judge Darnbrough from his assignment at the New Bedford District Court after receiving an anonymous letter,” the DA’s office wrote in a summary of its own investigation.
The DA’s office also stated in its summary that the anonymous letters were part of a smear campaign against the prosecutor. It alleged she was the victim of a “years-long campaign of harassment,” in which the harasser “wanted to ruin [our employee’s] name before [our employee] even got one.”
“Based on the information available, the District Attorney’s Office concluded that this new round of anonymous letters was a continuation of this harassment campaign against our employee,” the DA’s office wrote.
The DA’s office was ordered to turn over a summary of its investigation into the alleged affair at the request of attorney James McKenna, who is representing two men convicted in New Bedford District Court last year for sexual crimes.
McKenna is appealing their convictions on the grounds that the alleged affair between the prosecuting attorney and the judge presiding over the cases “fatally compromised” the defendants’ right to a fair trial.
“Inexcusably, the judge committed grave error, including misconduct, both by failing to disclose the intimate relationship and by failing to recuse himself,” McKenna argued in his appeal. “Similarly, the prosecutor’s failure to disclose comprised egregious prosecutorial misconduct.”
The court ordered discovery on the grounds that, “despite the minimal nature of the defendant’s showing, the assertions raised in his motion involve an undeniably serious allegation.”
In his appeal, McKenna alleged “inconsistency” and shortcomings in the district attorney’s investigation into the alleged prosecutorial misconduct. McKenna requested that the DA’s office turn over any records of its investigation.
The office of District Attorney Thomas Quinn asked the judge to deny McKenna’s request on the grounds that the note was an “uncorroborated, anonymous tip.”
“This is speculation built on speculation,” stated ADA Shoshana Stern, representing the district attorney’s office, according to court filings.
The DA’s office is attempting to uphold the convictions of the two men sentenced last year for sexual crimes in New Bedford District Court. One is Gerson Pascual-Santana, who was convicted of molesting a child under the age of 14. The other is Jonathan Rascao, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled person behind a trash container at the Market Basket in the city’s North End.
Both men were sentenced to two and a half years in prison and are currently serving out their sentences.
The alleged affair has the potential to overturn the convictions of Rascao and Pascual-Santana. It is part of an investigation by the public defender’s special projects unit, and could jeopardize convictions in more than a hundred other cases.
McKenna, who declined to comment, said he will file a response in the coming weeks.
Email Will Sennott at wsennott@newbedfordlight.org.