Man held on sex assault charge

BENNINGTON — A local man with nine felony convictions was ordered held without bail after an adult relative of the man’s told police he had sexually assaulted her on Oct. 10.

William O. Stanley Sr., 51, who is listed in court records as homeless, was arraigned on Oct. 11 on felony charges of sexual assault with no consent and lewd and lascivious conduct.

Stanley pleaded innocent to the charges but was ordered held without bail.

Based on his previous convictions, Stanley was charged as a habitual offender, a sentencing enhancement which would allow a judge to sentence Stanley, if he’s convicted, to up to life in prison. None of the previous felony convictions, which date back to 1981, are for sexually-based crimes.

In an affidavit, police said they were contacted on Oct. 10 around 7:50 p.m. by a woman who said Stanley had threatened her.

She later told police that Stanley had touched her in a Bennington motel room in the early morning hours of Oct. 10 and again that evening while she was driving him to a Bennington store. The woman said she hadn’t told anybody about the first incident because she had seen Stanley being violent in the past.

The woman’s boyfriend was in the truck on the second occasion, police said, and gave a written statement which supported her story. According to the statements from the woman and her boyfriend, Stanley threatened that he would kill her if she told anyone about what allegedly happened in the truck.