BOSTON — Bryon Hefner, the estranged husband of former state Senate president Stanley Rosenberg, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to five counts of sexual assault, four counts of distributing nude images without consent, and one count of criminal lewdness.
After his arraignment at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Hefner was released on personal recognizance with conditions. He is not allowed to have any contact, direct or indirect, with the victims or witnesses involved except for two people whose names were not disclosed. He must also stay away from the Massachusetts Statehouse and its grounds in Boston where Rosenberg works as a legislator.
In court Tuesday, Hefner replied “not guilty” to all 10 charges and was otherwise silent.
Rosenberg, D-Amherst, and Hefner separated shortly after Rosenberg was forced to step down from the Senate presidency in December amid an ethics investigation into whether he broke any Senate rules in relation to the allegations against Hefner. Rosenberg was elected to the Senate presidency in 2015 and married Hefner in September 2016.
Rosenberg, who was not in court Tuesday, declined comment after the arraignment.
Hefner, 30, also surrendered his passport to Boston Police, according to Assistant Clerk Magistrate Lisa Medeiros, and is not allowed to apply for a new one.
Hefner was indicted by a grand jury on the 10 charges at the end of March. The indictment followed a joint investigation by the offices of Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and Attorney General Maura T. Healey, which was sparked by allegations published by the Boston Globe in November.
Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Snook said at the arraignment that Hefner had engaged in “a pattern of assault and exploitive conduct.”
“He targeted both young men and older men and made the assaults in both public and private settings,” Snook said.
Prosecutors said during the arraignment that the charges are based on the testimony of four people, three of whom allege Hefner sexually assaulted them in the last five years. They said Hefner groped and sexually assaulted someone identified as “person number one” on three occasions, including once at a residence in Boston in June 2015 and twice in April 2016 in a car traveling from one event to another, and at a table at an event.
A second person identified as “person number two” was allegedly assaulted by Hefner in August 2016, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors also allege that Hefner sexually assaulted another person in 2014 and that he exposed his genitals to the same person in June 2016, for which he was charged with gross lewdness and lascivious behavior.
Lastly, prosecutors allege that Hefner obtained nude and partially nude photos of “person number four” without that person’s knowledge or consent, and sent or showed those photos to four other people without consent.
At the arraignment, Hefner walked quickly through a throng of reporters and cameras outside the courtroom, looking straight ahead. When he was seated and alone while his attorney conferred with someone outside the courtroom, Hefner continued to look impassively toward the two blocks of light coming from the windows behind the judge’s bench.
Around two dozen people filled the courtroom while more cameras waited in the hall outside. Hefner continued to sit unmoving and silent but for a few quick head nods in response to questions from his attorney.
Neither Hefner nor his attorney, Tracy Miner, of Boston, answered reporters’ questions before or after the arraignment, though Miner distributed a statement from the steps of the courthouse.
“Mr. Hefner Rosenberg has pled not guilty to the charges and looks forward to defending himself in a court of law where accusers cannot remain anonymous and must face cross-examination,” the statement read. “Unfortunately, he has already been pilloried in the press for political purposes, having never had a trial.”
Northampton Democrat Chelsea Kline, who announced in March that she would challenge Rosenberg in the Democratic primary for the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester Senate seat, also released a statement shortly after the arraignment.
“The brave individuals who have been harmed just took a step forward on the path toward justice and healing, and I’m keeping them especially close to my heart today,” Kline said. “Now it is up to the rest of us to channel their courage and resilience, and to challenge the systems of power that enable harm and silence survivors and witnesses everywhere.”
Hefner will return to court on Sept. 20 for a pretrial conference. His trial date was set for March 25, 2019.
M.J. Tidwell can be reached at mjtidwell@gazettenet.com.