Man charged with taunting paroled sexual offender
MANCHESTER, N.H. --A man is accused of throwing a burning scarecrow on the front steps of an apartment house where a registered sex offender lives as a crowd of neighbors taunted the resident.
Police say it happened early Saturday, outside the apartment of Gloria Huot, 39, who was convicted of sexual assault in 1997. She served seven years in prison and has completed parole and sexual offender programs.
Witnesses say about 15 people gathered shortly after 1 a.m. and began shouting "molester." Neighbors say Huot shouldn't be allowed to live in area where many children live.
Huot was not home at the time.
Barbara Smith, who shares an apartment with Huot, said a man lit a handmade scarecrow and threw it on the wooden porch steps. He later pulled the burning scarecrow off the steps and stomped on it.
Another neighbor came over with a bucket of water and the two doused the flames, according to Smith and court records. The charred remains of the scarecrow were scattered over the street and sidewalk by the time police and firefighters arrived, court records show.
Paul Hafford, 29, who lives across the street, is accused of lighting the scarecrow and throwing it on the front porch steps of the three-family apartment building. Hafford denied it, though he admitted being there when it happened, police said in an affidavit.
Hafford, who police said has a criminal history that includes four prior assault convictions, was arraigned on a felony reckless conduct charge in Manchester District Court on Monday. He was ordered held on $2,500 bail pending an Aug. 23 hearing.
Saturday's episode was an escalation of already raw relations between Huot and her neighbors since she and Smith moved into the apartment last month.
"It's scary because I don't know what they are going to do next," Huot said later. "I don't bother nobody. I don't look at nobody ... I know people don't like me because of my crime. So I stay inside as much as possible," Huot said.
But neighbors said Huot shouldn't be allowed to share an apartment that children frequent and to live in a neighborhood filled with children and nearby schools.
"This building has 13 children (living inside) who are under 13 years old. This building is way too close to her," said Jean Marie Emmons, 26, who lives across the street.
Huot, who last lived in Concord where she worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant, said she completed sexual offender programs in prison and while on parole.
"I'm not going to do anything to anybody. I learned my lesson," said Huot, who said she is undergoing counseling for abuse she suffered as a child. She said she purposely avoids children and waits for neighbors to go inside before leaving the house so she will not have to endure their jeers.
"I just try not to fight and let it go. Eventually, they are going to hopefully stop it, or I'm just going to have to move," Huot said.
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Information from: New Hampshire Union Leader, http://www.unionleader.com
