White River Junction - A Missouri man denied violating a court order preventing him from contacting his newborn daughter.
Paul J. Cool, 49, of Amity, Mo., pleaded innocent Monday in White River Junction District Court to a misdemeanor charge of violating his conditions of release.
On Dec. 1, Cool pleaded innocent to three counts of lewd and lascivious conduct for allegedly repeatedly assaulting a woman from 2006 to 2007 in Royalton. The woman, who was 18 years old when the alleged assaults began, told police Cool was a priest in a splinter sect of the Mormon Church and told her God had instructed him to prepare her for marriage.
Cool was released on $50,000 bail on conditions he stay in Vermont and have no contact with any female younger than 18. Promptly thereafter, according to statements made in court by Cool's wife Amy R. Cool, 42, and Cool's Attorney Catherine Clark, Cool returned to Missouri.
On Friday afternoon, Cool returned to court for a 3 p.m. hearing to amend his conditions to allow him to return to Missouri, and to have contact with his 13-year-old stepdaughter and his newborn daughter. Amy Cool had given birth to the girl three days earlier.
According to an affidavit filed with the court, at 2:35 p.m., Hartford Police received a call from an employee with the Department for Children and Families, who said Cool would be in court with his daughter, which would violate his conditions of release.
At 2:46 p.m., police interviewed Cool in the courthouse lobby. Affidavits state Cool told police he, his wife and their newborn daughter had traveled to court together in a single vehicle from a cabin in Ripton where the three of them were staying.
Police arrested Cool and transported him to the Hartford Police Station to be processed, but police brought Cool back to court for his hearing at the request of Judge Theresa S. DiMauro, who denied Cool's motion and set his bail at $5,000 bail for allegedly violating his conditions of release.
Cool was held at Springfield prison until he made bail.
Windsor County Deputy State's Attorney Eric Lopez asked DiMauro to continue Cool's conditions of release, while Cool's attorney asked for an exception to allow Cool to have contact with his daughter.
Clark told DiMauro Amy Cool had returned to Missouri with her daughter and Cool said he did not think they would return to Vermont. DiMauro declined to make an exception for Cool's daughter and continued his $5,000 bail, which is consecutive to the $50,000 bail posted for the original charges.
