Assault Case Against Sweet dismissed

Exhibit A: This photograph, taken on Sept. 21 at a tailgate party at Lane Stadium, was submitted as evidence in the assault case against Jonathan Sweet.

Keira Schneiderman is in the middle of the photo standing between County Administrator Jonathan Sweet and Delegate Eric Phillips, whose hand can be seen on her shoulder. Schneiderman claimed that Sweet assaulted her by putting his arm around her waist in the photo. Sweet denies this ever occurred.

By WILLIAM PAINE

Patriot Publishing 

An assault charge levied against Pulaski County Administrator Jonathan Sweet was dismissed Tuesday in Montgomery County General District Court.

The charge stemmed from assaults that Virginia Tech Student Body President Kiera Schneiderman claims to have taken place at a tailgate party in the parking lot of Lane Stadium, after Virginia Tech’s loss to Rutgers on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Schneiderman watched the football game from the Presidential Suite along with Delegate Eric Phillips and others, while Sweet attended the game with a friend elsewhere in the stands. The tailgate gathering was already in progress when Sweet happened by.  It was there that Schneiderman said Sweet assaulted her on five different instances.

At the beginning of the proceedings, the prosecution submitted a photograph to the court as evidence, which was labeled Exhibit A. The photo, which was the only evidence submitted for this case, showed Schneiderman standing between Delegate Phillips and Sweet, along with three others, including Delegate Phillip’s son.

Four witnesses gave testimony at Tuesday’s court hearing, beginning with Schneiderman, who was the first witness.

“He grabbed me,” said Schneiderman of Sweet. “To say he hugged me is a generous term. He grabbed me and held me.”

She went on to say that Sweet held her for 10 seconds on two separate instances and would not let her loose.

Schneiderman described two more instances of assault saying that Sweet grabbed her neck and then “swung me into his arms a second time.”

Schneiderman claimed that the fifth time Sweet assaulted her was when the photograph was taken, where she claimed Sweet put his arm around her waist. Schneiderman asked that the photo be taken and used her phone to take the picture.

Elizabeth Hooper, Vice President of Government and Human Relations at Virginia Tech, organized the game day gathering both in the Presidential Suite and the tailgate afterward. Schneiderman said that during the tailgate, Hooper asked her if she was okay, with the implication that Hooper was asking because she had witnessed what Schneiderman described as assaults.

Defense Attorney Jimmy Turk asked Schneiderman how much she had been drinking that evening to which she responded, “I drank less than one standard drink.”  In contrast, she claimed that Sweet was intoxicated to the point of slurring his speech.

Schneiderman said she left the tailgate gathering and arrived at her dorm at approximately 9 p.m.  Towards midnight she decided to contact the authorities and met with Officer Michael Johnson of the Virginia Tech Police Department in her dorm at 12:15 a.m.

Schneiderman said that by the time the police arrived there were no visible marks on her neck from the encounter and admitted that she told Johnson that her breathing was never impeded. She also told Johnson that she did not want to press charges and that interviewing witnesses was unnecessary.

However, on October 9, Schneiderman decided she did want to press assault and battery charges against Sweet. On this occasion she met with officer Johnson at the Virginia Tech Public Safety Building.

Referencing Sweet, Schneiderman said that “touching me was inappropriate because he is the most powerful man in Pulaski County and I’m just a college student.” She also told Johnson that despite allegedly being assaulted on multiple occasions, she was never afraid nor was she fearful of encountering Sweet in the future.

Schneiderman admitted to officer Johnson that she would not file charges if her alleged assaults were committed by a college student. Additionally, Schneiderman’s court testimony confirmed statements made during the police interview, where she claimed that most everyone at the tailgate was Republican and that sexual assault isn’t their top priority, “whereas with Democrats it might be different.”

After Schneiderman’s testimony, Katie Turk who was on the defense team with her father Jimmy Turk, asked that the case be dismissed, as Schneiderman’s charges were “purely politically motivated.”

The judge did not dismiss the case at that point and the next witness, 48^th District Delegate Phillips, was called to the stand.

Phillips said he had been unaware of the charges until police contacted him one week prior to the hearing. Phillips recalled speaking to Schneiderman that evening but said that she never mentioned an assault.

Phillips said that at no time during the tailgate did he see Sweet put his arm around Schneiderman but admitted that he had put his hand on Schneiderman’s shoulder in the photograph (Exhibit A).

Phillips added that Sweet was not slurring his words and did not appear to be intoxicated.

Next to take the stand was Hooper. Like Phillips, Hooper testified that she did not witness Sweet assaulting Schneiderman that evening.

Hooper added that when she asked Schneiderman if she was “okay,” the tailgate had come to an end and she wanted to know if she was “okay” to walk home and not in reference to any assault.

Sweet was the last to testify.

“I did not hug her,” said Sweet. “I absolutely did not touch her neck. I don’t recall shaking her hand or interacting with her at all … except for the photo shoot, which she insisted on!”

Sweet was contacted several weeks after the alleged incident but says he had no idea what he was supposed to have done.

“I can recall begging the police to see some evidence like videos taken in the parking lot and they told me the cameras were pointed in a different direction away from the tailgate,” Sweet said.

During closing arguments, Montgomery County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Nick Lauer said that the state was relying on the testimony of Schneiderman to bring an assault charge. Though neither Delegate Phillips nor Hooper witnessed any assault, according to Lauer, since they were not specifically observing Sweet during the tailgate, the assaults could have occurred.

Katie Turk told the court that the charge “doesn’t add up” and that there was no evidence of assault.

The judge stated that he did not believe that Schneiderman’s motivation was political, but then referenced the photograph and how Schneiderman was smiling and standing next to Sweet after she claimed to have been assaulted by him on four occasions before the photo was taken. The judge added that putting an arm around someone while taking a photograph is common practice and if Schneiderman’s assault allegations held merit, all six people in the photo could potentially be charged with assault.

Citing the fact that no one observed the assault and that the photograph (Exhibit A) didn’t clearly show an assault, the judge ruled that there was enough reasonable doubt to dismiss assault charges against Sweet.

“I can’t believe the Commonwealth’s Attorney took the case,” said Sweet after Tuesday’s trial.

“There was no evidence! I had to explain to my wife that I’m charged with assaulting a Virginia Tech student and I didn’t even know what I was being accused of. And I’m trying to make sense of it with my wife and high school children, and I don’t even know how to defend myself, because I don’t even know what I’m being accused of! It took over a week to get that information.”

After the hearing, Jimmy Turk said that testimony by Delegate Phillips and Hooper was key to proving Sweet’s innocence.

The following is a statement given exclusively to The Patriot / SW Times by Sweet.

“I am so thankful for the support this community has shown me during this extremely difficult time and for the trust the Board of Supervisors and many of my staff have had in me throughout this process.  It has meant a lot and I will forever be grateful.  Unfortunately, I have been through these types of fraudulent pursuits before as a public figure.   Whether it’s a big red barn or donkeys on Route 11, being in the public spotlight sometimes makes you a target for these types of opportunistic false accusations.  That is why I am truly thankful once again to God for allowing the truth of this case to be revealed in court.  I am also thankful to my capable attorneys, and for all those in the community and throughout the Commonwealth who gave me the benefit of the doubt and did not find me guilty in the proverbial court of public opinion before my case could be heard.

“Beyond the distractions, the stress and the expense of my defense, it is important to know that this was difficult for my family as well, and all those who know me.  Fortunately, with all the evidence presented in court, seeing the individuals who showed up in the courtroom, and seeing how this fabrication was treated with the media, it is pretty clear that I was targeted as a public figure.  But now that we know the truth and we understand what some of the motivations behind this false accusation were, I trust that my family and I can begin the process of healing and I can refocus my energy and attention on continuing to serve and advance this wonderful community.”