By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Another trial date for Peter Stone, the therapist charged with sexually assaulting his patient in North Conway, has once again been set in Carroll County Superior Court in Ossipee.
Stone, formerly Peter Dushame, has managed to avoid trial for more than five years. After blowing up his plea deal in January, and then claiming he could not leave Maine to attend court, Stone is now scheduled for a November trial on multiple counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault.
Stone allegedly used his position as therapist for patient Bonnie Sitomer, to sexually abuse her in 2016. Sitomer came forward with her account of the abuse in 2021, leading to Stone’s arrest and indictment. But Sitomer has grown frustrated as delay after delay in court allowed Stone to avoid accountability.
“It is outrageous. I’ve been more abused by the system than I was by him at this point,” Sitomer told InDepthNH.org.
After two trial dates were cancelled, and a lengthy competency evaluation process was completed, Stone was set to plead guilty on two charges in January. The sweetheart deal would have allowed Stone to stay out of jail after pleading guilty to sexually abusing Sitomer, netting him a 10-year suspended sentence.
But Stone reportedly refused to take responsibility during the plea hearing, blaming Sitomer for the sexual abuse when questioned by Judge Amy Ignatius. After more months of delays caused by the fact he’s living in Maine to receive medical treatment, Stone’s case is once again on the court calendar.
Stone is no stranger to the criminal justice system. He was convicted of manslaughter for the 1989 drunk driving crash that took the life of 10-year-old Lacey Parker. At the time, he was Peter Dushame, a man with multiple convictions for drunk driving, and a record of being involved in two other fatal car crashes.
While in prison, Dushame studied to become a counselor to treat people with drug and alcohol addictions. He also changed his name from Dushame to Stone, allowing him to start fresh when he was released in 2002. Sitomer told InDepthNH.org she would never have become his patient had she known his history.
New Hampshire changed the law in 2024 to make it harder for convicted felons to change their names.