A 33-year-old Arlington man is being held without bail after Vermont State Police say he seriously injured a child in his own family. Ian E. Dressler turned himself in to troopers on Wednesday and now faces two felony charges tied to the alleged abuse.
According to WNYT, detectives from the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Vermont Department of Children and Families were notified of child abuse in Arlington on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Investigators determined that Dressler had seriously injured a child in his family, the outlet reported, though the evidence reviewed does not detail the child's age or the specific nature of the injuries.
Dressler turned himself in at the Shaftsbury Barracks for processing on Wednesday, Nov. 4, per the same report. He was charged with first-degree aggravated domestic assault and aggravated cruelty to a child, two felony counts that stem from the allegations against him.
Held Without Bail Ahead of Bennington Hearing
After processing, Dressler was taken to the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland, where he was held without bail, the station's report states. He was scheduled to appear Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in Vermont Superior Court Bennington Criminal Division, though what happened at that hearing has not been confirmed.
The charges Dressler faces carry significant statutory exposure. Under Vermont Statutes Online, a conviction for first-degree aggravated domestic assault can bring imprisonment of not more than 15 years, a fine of not more than $25,000, or both — the statutory maximum, not a prediction of how this case will be resolved. A separate excerpt from Vermont Statutes Online describes conduct punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of not more than $500, though the provided text does not establish which specific allegations against Dressler fall under that statute.
Another Arlington Child-Cruelty Arrest Nine Days Earlier
Nine days before Dressler turned himself in, Vermont State Police arrested Patricia O'Dell and Raymond O'Dell, both 58 and of Arlington, on Oct. 26 at 3:30 p.m. on a charge of cruelty to a child, according to the Newport Dispatch. That investigation involved a 14-year-old victim from Arlington.
Unlike Dressler, the O'Dells were issued citations rather than held in custody. They were cited to appear in Vermont Superior Court Bennington Criminal Division on Oct. 29 at 12:30 p.m. to answer to the charge and were released with conditions, the Dispatch reported. The O'Dell case involved Patricia and Raymond O'Dell, while Dressler faces charges in a separate case.
