WOBURN — A judge yesterday ordered defense attorney Robert LeBlanc of Methuen to refrain from "avoidable and intentional" contact with fellow attorney Pamela Saia-Rogers because LeBlanc is charged with assault and battery for allegedly bearhugging Saia-Rogers.
LeBlanc, 64, a former Methuen town manager, was arraigned in Woburn District Court on a single count of assault and battery, nearly a year after an alleged Nov. 18 incident in the lobby at Lawrence District Court.
"He gave a three-second bear hug to Mrs. Saia-Rogers and said, 'My favorite Republican,'" LeBlanc's attorney, Max Stern of Boston, told Judge Laurence Pierce.
Saia-Rogers didn't attend the hearing. She previously told Lawrence police Officer Kevin Schiavone that she was chatting with three other attorneys when LeBlanc grabbed her from behind, "wrapped his arms around her midsection just below her breast and pulled her tightly to him pressing his pelvis against her backside" in a bearhug, according to Schiavone's report.
"She states he stated aloud to the colleagues standing there, 'Isn't she a beautiful Republican?'" the report said. "Saia-Rogers stated she felt embarrassed and violated, but kept her composure due to the work setting she was in."
Cases that involve people who work in local courts are typically moved to a court they don't normally work in, hence the fact that the case was moved to Woburn. Erin Bell, assistant district attorney for the Middlesex district attorney's office, is prosecuting the case.
LeBlanc stood silently. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. No bail was set, and LeBlanc is due back in court for a pretrial hearing Nov. 2.
Bell and Stern agreed LeBlanc cannot avoid Saia-Rogers completely because they both practice at Lawrence District Court, so the judge's order bars LeBlanc from "avoidable and intentional" contact, according to court documents.
