A Canterbury police chief has pleaded not guilty to a charge that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl while he was a police officer in Boscawen.
Prosecutors in Franklin released a 14-page affidavit Wednesday detailing a nearly year-old investigation into 44-year-old John Laroche, including transcripts from recorded conversations.
Laroche is accused of using his authority to coerce the then-17-year-old female. He told police in an affidavit the contact was consensual.
The crime allegedly took place in 1999. The attorney general said Laroche was overseeing the Boscawen Police Explorer Program for young men and women interested in law enforcement careers; the teen was a Police Explorer.
The woman, now 33, says Laroche "acted inappropriately" on several occasions.
The Canterbury Selectboard has placed Laroche on unpaid leave at his request.