Former Gloucester firefighters' union president Clinton Carroll was cleared of indecent child assault charges in court today, then vowed to fight the City Hall forces he says are trying to keep him from returning to the Fire Department.
Prosecutors yesterday threw out all charges against Carroll — two counts each of indecent assault and battery of a child and reckless endangerment of a child — after "conversations with the mother of the victim" convinced them pursuing the case is "not in the best interest of the child at this time," a court filing from District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office said.
A spokesman for the district attorney would not comment further on the decision, or why a prosecution was not in the interest of the victim now but had been when the case was first brought against Carroll.
Carroll has professed his innocence since his arrest at the end of July, when he was accused of engaging in a romantic relationship with an O'Maley Middle School student starting last winter when she was 13 years old.
The alleged victim, now 14, had at one point told detectives that she and Carroll met secretly at Gordon Thomas Park at the head of the harbor, hugged and kissed on the lips. But she wavered in her statement at least once before charges were filed — then recanted her accounts of the relationship in an e-mail to Gloucester Police Chief Michael Lane circulated by multiple sources in September.
Two weeks ago, Carroll's defense filed a series of discovery motions for investigation records and witness accounts that his lawyers said would reveal that the prosecution did not have a case. The prosecution had not turned over any of the requested documents when they dropped the case, Carroll said yesterday.
"I am just happy it is over," Carroll said yesterday morning when reached by phone. "Now I am just looking to get my job back."
In a phone interview today, Carroll pointed to Mayor Carolyn Kirk as the cause behind what he has called a politically motivated "setup."
"She had other motivations for this charge," Carroll said. "It kind of speaks for itself. They dropped these charges without producing any evidence."
Kirk said Carroll's assertion she or any members of her office had exerted any influence in the Carroll investigation or prosecution is "absolutely not true." Lane also said the idea that the mayor's office had any influence into the investigation or prosecution was "obviously not credible."
City Solicitor Suzanne Egan said yesterday the city stands by the firing, and the collapse of the criminal case against Carroll should have "no direct bearing at all" on the civil service appeal.
For the full story, see tomorrow's print and online editions of the Gloucester Daily Times and gloucestertimes.com
Patrick Anderson can be reached at 978-283-7000 x3455, or via e-mail at panderson@gloucestertimes.com
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