Vermont’s highest court has ruled that records of a criminal investigation at the Vermont State Police Academy will remain confidential.
On Friday, the Vermont Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling denying the Rutland Herald access to files on a criminal investigation of possession of child pornography by a trainer and other police academy employees. The investigation ended after the trainer committed suicide after suspected child pornography was found on his computer.
The newspaper argued that the investigative records should be open because the investigation was over and because it was an internal investigation.
Supreme Court justices said state law doesn’t contain an expiration clause making records public after an investigation has concluded. The ruling further said there’s nothing that sets apart internal investigations.