Assault charge vs. lawyer dropped

Prosecutors have dropped the case against a prominent Boston lawyer accused of groping a woman at an art museum gala.

In April, Gloretta Baynes contended that Stephen T. Kunian ripped her jacket open and fondled her at the Institute of Contemporary Art in December. She offered to settle the case for $500,000, but Kunian refused.

"The putative victim in this case has represented through counsel . . . that she will no longer cooperate with the district attorney's office and does not want to proceed criminally with this matter," said a court document filed Tuesday by the Suffolk district attorney's office. "Without the cooperation of the putative victim, the Commonwealth cannot meet its burden of proof in this matter."

Kunian's lawyer, Richard Egbert, stressed yesterday that there was no financial settlement in the case.

"This woman has not received a dime from us," he said. "She has not received the promise of a dime from us. I said it was a shakedown before, and I'll say it again."

Baynes's lawyer, James Dilday, said his client "does not feel psychologically capable."

"She doesn't want to have to go through the process of a criminal trial at this time," Dilday said. "But that is not to say that she would not go forward with a civil case when her emotional condition is better."

Kunian, a 1964 graduate of Harvard Law School, is a partner in the firm Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, specializing in banking, business, and real estate law.

The ICA was one of Kunian's philanthropic interests. In court papers, Kunian said that he had expressed admiration for a necklace Baynes wore and touched it, before quickly recoiling and apologizing after he "realized the impropriety of his action."

He had been charged with simple assault and battery .

Egbert said the short-lived case initially troubled his client.

"He was absolutely devastated someone would make the charges; he was angry about it," said Egbert. But after the news media reported the accusations, Kunian received an outpouring of support, he said.

"He's been extraordinarily heartened by the public support he's received," Egbert said.