Lebanon
Laramie, 48, accepted a plea deal in Lebanon District Court, pleading no contest to a violation instead of the Class B misdemeanor he originally faced.
He received a $500 fine, half of the maximum penalty he could have received, said prosecutor Christopher O’Connor with the Lower Grafton County Prosecutorial Association.
Laramie said little in court other than to respond to direct questioning from Judge Henrietta Luneau with “yes” or “no” answers.
Luneau found Laramie guilty of offering to pay Canaan police officer Samuel Provenza for sex acts. Provenza was in court on Monday but declined to comment on the sting operation, which was set up in April in response to what Canaan Police Chief Samuel Frank said at the time was a concern about human trafficking.
The details of how the Canaan Police Department carried out the prostitution sting weren’t divulged at the time of Laramie’s arrest because of an ongoing investigation. A message left for Frank on Monday to learn more about the sting wasn’t returned by deadline.
Laramie and his attorney, Concord-based Thomas Colantuono, both declined to comment on their way out of the courthouse.
O’Connor, the prosecutor, said Laramie’s decision to voluntarily surrender his education credentials was not part of the plea deal. O’Connor called the decision a “collateral consequence.”
He said the outcome of Laramie’s criminal case was “standard” given his lack of a prior criminal history.
Laramie resigned from his job as principal for the Hanover-based school roughly a month before school administrators announced they were investigating more than $30,000 in unapproved expenses charged to Laramie’s school-issued credit card.
In August, Superintendent Frank Bass said the School Board doesn’t plan to press criminal charges in connection with the alleged misuse of funds, and said the district’s insurance company has cut a check for the amount of the losses. Bass said the board could change its position on whether to press charges in the future.
Prior to working in Hanover, Laramie worked for Kearsarge Regional High School, Stevens High School and Lebanon High School.
Two state Department of Education employees were in court on Monday to oversee Laramie’s surrender of his credentials.
After Laramie’s court hearing, state Department of Education Investigator Richard Farrell said a state education board now must approve Laramie’s decision. If he wishes to work as an educator again, he must petition the board, Farrell said.
According to the state Department of Education’s administrative rules, there is a list of transgressions that trigger automatic suspension or revocation of an educator’s credentials, including certain felony convictions.
Laramie’s conviction in itself isn’t one of the offenses that would trigger automatic suspension or revocation, Farrell said.
He declined to comment on any specifics in relation to Laramie, saying state Department of Education investigations are confidential.
The Department of Education has a search feature that allows anyone to look up educators who currently hold active certifications in the state.
On Monday, Laramie’s name wasn’t on the list.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com.