WOBURN — Defense attorney Robert LeBlanc has been ordered by a judge to write an apology letter to fellow attorney Pamela Saia-Rogers for giving her a bearhug in a courthouse nearly two years ago.
LeBlanc, a 65-year-old former Methuen town manager who is well known in civic circles, was charged with a single count of assault and battery for the Nov. 18, 2008, hug.
Saia-Rogers told Lawrence police Officer Kevin Schiavone that she was chatting with three other attorneys in the lobby of Lawrence District Court at 8:45 a.m. that day, 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."
The incident happened 14 days after Democrat Barack Obama defeated Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. LeBlanc is a member of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, according to his resume.
LeBlanc and Saia-Rogers both practice law locally. Cases that involve people who work in local courts are typically moved to a court they don't normally work in, and this case was transferred to Woburn District Court. Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone's office prosecuted the case.
At a hearing last Friday, Judge Timothy Gailey placed LeBlanc on pretrial probation for six months, according to Cara O'Brien, a spokeswoman for Leone.
"If the defendant violates the terms of his probation, the commonwealth can bring the case back to the trial list," O'Brien said.
The terms of LeBlanc's probation call for him to write an apology letter to Saia-Rogers and "refrain from speaking to the media regarding the case," O'Brien said.
Neither LeBlanc nor Saia-Rogers returned a call seeking comment.
The case will be disposed of if LeBlanc successfully completes his probation, O'Brien said.
LeBlanc was Methuen's town manager from 1976 to 1981, serving as a town councilor afterward. He's a familiar face at political and charitable events, and he is involved with many community groups.
His involvement includes being a past president of the Holy Family Men's Guild, a member of the Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board, and deputy legal counsel for the Massachusetts Democratic Party.
