By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Victor Malavet went from being investigated at his state job for allegedly abusing a teen girl to working as a police officer, and then a safety officer at two different New Hampshire college campuses.
Malavet, 61, of Gilford, is the first suspect to get a criminal trial in the Sununu Youth Services Center, formerly known as YDC, abuse scandal. Malavet’s trial starts Monday in Merrimack Superior Court in Concord.
Malavet is charged with several counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault of a teen girl held at the Concord YDC in 2001, while he was a residential staffer. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
At the time of the alleged abuse, Malavet was placed under investigation by YDC administrators. Fellow staffers reported an inappropriate relationship between Malavet and the girl, according to statements made at a prior court hearing.
The alleged victim reportedly lied during the 2001 investigation to protect Malavet. Though nothing came of the 2001 investigation, Malavet was transferred to the Youth Development Center (YDC) in Manchester to separate him from the alleged victim.
Richmond Town Administrator Susan Harrington confirmed to InDepthNH.org that Malavet would later get a job as a police officer in the small Monadnock region town.
“I can confirm on 11/22/2010 a Victor Malavet … was hired as a Part-Time Police Officer for the Richmond Police Department. I cannot confirm his exact date of departure,” Harrington stated in an email.
Richmond no longer has a municipal police department after voters dissolved the agency in 2019, opting to go with a patrol contract from the Cheshire County Sheriff’s Department. The officer in charge of the Richmond department in 2010 was Andrew Wood. He did not respond to a request for comment from InDepthNH.org.
Wood is currently awaiting trial himself on charges he stole from taxpayers while police chief in Hancock. Wood allegedly billed Hancock for time he was either not working, or when he was working at his second job in Richmond.
Malavet held a job as a campus safety officer at Keene State College from 2006 through 2015, before he took a job as a campus safety officer for Lakes Region Community College in Laconia.
Shannon Reid, Executive Director of Government Affairs and Communications for the Community College System of New Hampshire, told InDepthNH.org Malavet worked as a part-time officer until June of 2017. When he was hired, Malavet passed the college background check, Reid said.
“At that time, our practice for new hires included conducting a reference check and a sex offender registry check,” Reid said. “We currently have a newer policy which includes a criminal background check.”
Malavet isn’t the only YDC suspect to go on to work in law enforcement. Jeffrey Buskey, accused of committing hundreds of brutal rapes against one teen alone, worked as an officer for the Sanbornton Police Department. InDepthNH.org is currently fighting a court battle to obtain Buskey’s discipline record from Sanbornton.
Buskey was fired from Sanbornton around 2006 over allegations he bounced a check.
The state has been slow to bring any of the YDC suspects to trial. Since the Attorney General’s Office created the YDC Task Force in 2019, only 11 men have been indicted out of hundreds of alleged abusers identified by the victims. No charges have been brought against any suspect since 2021, when 11 men were indicted.
Since the indictments were handed up, the case against suspect Frank Davis evaporated after he was found incompetent to stand trial. Last month, another suspect, Gordon Thomas Searles, 68, died.
