By DAMIEN FISHER, IndepthNH.org
NORTH HAVERHILL – The former Grafton County House of Corrections officer charged with sexually assaulting two female prisoners is the center of two civil rights lawsuits filed against the county.
Max Fournier, 24, faces four felony counts of sexual assault and is slated to go to trial in September, though his criminal attorney, Mark Sisti of Concord, said the trial will likely be pushed back.
Adding to Fournier’s legal jeopardy are two civil rights lawsuits naming Fournier, Grafton County Department of Corrections Superintendent Thomas Elliott, the Grafton County Department of Corrections, and the Grafton County Commissioners are on file in the Coos Superior Court and Merrimack Superior Court.
One of those lawsuits, naming Jane Doe #1 as the victim, has been sealed and is not available to the public. According to the court docket, it was remanded to the United States District Court in Concord on Aug. 12.
The other lawsuit was also remanded to the United States District Court in Concord for trial. The second lawsuit names the victim as Jane Doe #2, and claims that Fournier forcibly sexually assaulted her while he was assigned as her guard.
Michael Craig, the Manchester attorney representing both Jane Does did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Keelan Forey, the Concord attorney representing Grafton County and Elliott. Nashua attorney Brian Cullen, who is representing Fournier in the civil cases, did not respond to a request for comment.
Jane Doe #2’s lawsuit alleges that Elliott, the County Commissioners, the Grafton County Department of Corrections, as well as 10 John Doe House of Corrections employees named as defendants, were negligent in failing to stop Fournier from abusing the woman. The lawsuit alleges that all the people and entities named as defendants should have known about Fournier’s alleged assaults.
“Upon information and belief, multiple employees and agents of the Defendant County knew or reasonably should have known about the wrongful acts perpetrated against the plaintiff and not only failed to report this information but also concealed this information, which resulted in continued retention of Max Fournier as an agent of the County; and where he continued his deviant behavior,” the lawsuit states.
Fournier was indicted in March on four felony charges alleging that he sexually assaulted two female prisoners at the jail. He stopped working for the county in May of 2020, while the investigation conducted by the Grafton County Sheriff’s Department was ongoing. The alleged assaults took place in 2019, according to the indictments.
Fournier was a corporal in charge of training new officers at the time the allegations came to light.
The criminal indictments allege he assaulted two different female prisoners, called Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 in the court files. He’s charged with one class B felony for felonious sexual assault, and three special enhanced felonies for aggravated felonious sexual assault. The three aggravated felonious sexual assault charges are enhanced due to Fournier’s position of authority over the woman.
Fournier, who lives in Vermont, is currently free on personal recognizance bail.