***Update*** Shaftsbury Barracks / Sexual Assault

***Updated press release***

STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

CASE#: 24B3000426 / 24B3000509

RANK/FULL NAME OF SOLDIER: Detective Trooper Nicholas Grimes

STATION: VSP Shaftsbury

CONTACT#: 802-442-5421

DATE/TIME: 18.09.2023 and 20.09.2023

STREET: Northside Drive

CITY: Bennington, VT

Defendant: James A. Gathright Jr.

AGE: 56

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Manchester, NH

VICTIMS: (The Vermont State Police does not release the names of victims of sexual assault or domestic violence.)

AGE:

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE:

INCIDENT SUMMARY:

Vermont State Police obtained arrest warrants for a Vermont man on charges of aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault – without consent stemming from two separate sexual assault investigations that occurred in September 2023. The suspect is identified as James A. Gathright Jr., 56, of Manchester, NH. Gathright is accused of sexually assaulting a woman on Northside Drive in Bennington and then sexually assaulting a minor female on the Rail Trail near Northside Drive in Bennington several days later. Gathright was arrested on June 10.^th2024, in Manchester, NH, by the U.S. Marshals Service. Gathright is awaiting extradition to Vermont.

The Vermont State Police were assisted in the investigation by the Bennington Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service.

***First press release, April 15^th2024***

STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

CASE#: 24B3000426 / 24B3000509

RANK/FULL NAME OF SOLDIER: Detective Trooper Nicholas Grimes

STATION: VSP Shaftsbury

CONTACT#: 802-442-5421

DATE/TIME: 18.09.2023 and 20.09.2023

STREET: Northside Drive

CITY: Bennington, VT

Defendant: James A. Gathright Jr.

AGE: 56

CITY, COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE: Unknown

VICTIMS: (The Vermont State Police does not release the names of victims of sexual assault or domestic violence.)

AGE:

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE:

INCIDENT SUMMARY:

Vermont State Police have obtained arrest warrants for a Vermont man on charges of aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault – without consent – stemming from two separate sexual assault investigations in September 2023. The suspect is identified as James A. Gathright Jr., 56, of Rutland/Bennington, VT. Gathright is accused of sexually assaulting a woman on Northside Drive in Bennington and then sexually assaulting an underage girl several days later on the Rail Trail near Northside Drive in Bennington. A Vermont Superior Court judge in Bennington County signed two arrest warrants for Gathright.

Gathright is described as black, 5’8″ tall, weighing approximately 175 pounds, bald, and with brown eyes. A photo of him is attached to this press release. His last known whereabouts were in Bennington in November 2023.

Anyone with information on Gathright’s whereabouts should call their local police department or the Vermont State Police in Shaftsbury at 802-442-5421. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the VSP website: https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.