Chester man released on $20,000 bail after agreeing to plead guilty to child sex charges

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Jason Carrara, the Chester man who was arrested on two child sex charges on Sept. 24 and held without bail, has been released on a bond of $20,000, part of a deal with the office of the Windsor County State’s Attorney’s office that included a guilty plea to be entered later.

Among the conditions of Carrara’s release was him neither having contact with nor abusing nor harassing “in any way” the victim or the victim’s mother. He is allowed third-party contact with the victim’s mother in legal and business matters. Carrara, 41, is also under a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew at a home on Upper Bartonsville Road in Rockingham.

In the meantime, Katie Fluharty is concerned. She operates a preschool from her home,  which is next door to the property where Carrara is living. She has expressed concern on social media that that is too close for the children in her care. The Telegraph has reached out to Fluharty for comment but has not received a response as yet.

In a Gofundme campaign she started so that she could buy and erect privacy fencing for her yard where children play, Fluharty writes that she has contacted several state agencies, but has found she has no legal recourse.

Windsor County Deputy State’s Attorney Travis Weaver told The Telegraph on Thursday that it was quite possible that Carrara would have been released regardless of whether he agreed to plead guilty. The agreement was that the state would not contest the release if Carrara agreed to plead guilty to Lewd & Lascivious Acts with a Child.  The date of that plea has not been set.

He will be released during the time it takes for Vermont’s Probation and Parole Office to complete a pre-sentencing investigation and set a date on the Windsor County Court calendar for a sentencing hearing. At that sentencing hearing, the state would be looking for four years in prison followed by a term of  probation and a possible order for treatment. Carrara would also be required to register as a sex offender.

“It was better to have the release with the plea agreement,” said Weaver. “The worse situation was a release without the plea.”

There is currently a “status conference” set for Carrara on March 12 and Weaver hopes that the pre-sentencing report will be ready by then. The defense may want to review the report and file a rebuttal, which might delay the proceeding. A call to the Springfield Office of Probation and Parole was referred to the communications director of the Vermont Department of Corrections, who did not return the call.

In the meantime, Weaver is aware of Fluharty’s concerns.

“We’re looking into steps we can take to make her safer,” said Weaver, who noted that Carrara knows he is being watched.