Ex-Gardner police officer pleads guilty to reduced charge in Hampton assault case

HAMPTON – A former Massachusetts police officer accused of sexually assaulting a Hampton woman in 2023 has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge to resolve the case.

Dylan Bryant, 30, of Gardner, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in Rockingham Superior Court on September 16 to a misdemeanor charge of simple assault (physical contact or bodily harm) as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

He was sentenced to one year in prison, with three years suspended pending good behavior. As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped two felony charges.

Assistant Attorney General Roger Chadwick stated in his notice that he would not prosecute the misdemeanor charges to which Bryant had pleaded guilty “to a lesser charge with the consent of the victim.”

Bryant was indicted by a Rockingham County grand jury in July 2023. He resigned as a police officer in Gardner, Massachusetts, after the grand jury indictment was returned. The Massachusetts Peace Officer Standard and Training Commission also suspended Bryant’s law enforcement license.

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According to the charges, the assault occurred in Hampton between May 28 and May 30, 2022, and the woman was “physically helpless to resist.”

The simple assault charge to which Bryant pleaded guilty stemmed from allegations that he “had unprivileged physical contact with (the victim) while the (victim) was intoxicated and he did so without her consent.”

As part of the suspended prison sentence, Bryant was ordered by the judge to have no contact with the victim and to be of good behavior for the next three years. Good behavior was defined by the judge as no contact with the victim and “no new felonies, misdemeanors or major motor vehicle violations as defined in the habitual offender statute.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Ex-Gardner officer pleads guilty to reduced charge in assault case