What to Know
- A Massachusetts judge has agreed to drop one of six charges against Bryon Hefner.
- The judge is not dropping the five indecent assault and battery charges Hefner is facing at his upcoming trial in June.
- Hefner, the estranged husband of former Senate President Stan Rosenberg, is accused of assaults dating back to 2014.
A Massachusetts judge has agreed to drop one of six charges against the estranged husband of former Senate President Stan Rosenberg.
In a hearing Monday in Suffolk Superior Court, one count of open and gross lewdness was dropped against Bryon Hefner.
Hefner's attorney, Tracy A. Miner, had requested all accounts of sexual assault against Hefner to be dropped arguing that the alleged crimes should not be considered felonies despite the "disgusting" nature of them.
Prosecutors say the alleged crime included repeated groping, showing of nude photos, forcible kissing and other forms of sexual assault and misconduct towards men working at the Statehouse.
In a separate case, Hefner is accused of making prank phone calls to a treatment center at which he was patient.
Prosecutors allege that Hefner sexually assaulted one victim on three separate occasions in the Boston area, including once in June 2015 in a residential building and twice in April 2016 — in a car traveling from one political event and going to another and at the political event itself.
U.S. & World
Hefner allegedly sexually assaulted another victim in 2014 and exposed his genitals to that victim in June 2016. The victim, who told investigators Hefner had been a close friend, claimed Hefner repeatedly tried to grope him and that he had to retreat to the bathroom to get away.
While the judge agreed to drop the open and gross lewdness charge, he is not dropping the five indecent assault and battery charges Hefner is facing at his upcoming trial in June.
