Orchestra leader cited for child porn
Toolbox
By Susan Smallheer STAFF WRITER - Published: November 21, 2009
BRATTLEBORO – The conductor of the Windham Orchestra took a leave of absence Friday after he was cited by Brattleboro police on felony charges of possession of child pornography.
David Runnion, 50, of Brattleboro, will also face charges of luring a Brattleboro minor via electronic means, according to Detective Erik Johnson.
Runnion was slated to conduct the combined professional and amateur orchestra in a concert Friday evening in Saxtons River, a tribute to Blanche Honegger Moyse, the founder of the Brattleboro Music Center, who is celebrating her 100th birthday.
Sabine Rhyne, director of the music school at the Brattleboro Music Center, said Friday that Runnion had taken a leave of absence and that the concert at Vermont Academy was cancelled.
The conductor is slated to be arraigned on the two felonies in Brattleboro District Court on Dec. 29, according to the police. There is a possibility additional charges may be filed, police said.
Runnion met the minor through an online social network and used the e-mail address of thepurpleandthewhite@yahoo.com, to communicate with the minor and police asked that if anyone had contact with that screen name to contact the police. Purple and white are the Brattleboro Union High School colors.
Runnion, who grew up in Brattleboro and took music classes at the music center, had returned to Brattleboro in recent years after a professional career as a cellist in New York City and Spain.
According to the Windham Orchestra Web site, Runnion returned to Brattleboro in 2005 after living in Spain for 10 years as the principal cellist for the Barcelona Symphony and was founder of a youth orchestra in Spain at that time. He has appeared with the Vermont Symphony as well.
He is the son of former longtime Brattleboro Reformer managing editor Norman Runnion.
Johnson, the Brattleboro detective, said David Runnion had been under investigation since May regarding his involvement with a juvenile. Police conducted a search warrant of Runnion's home in early July, confiscating his laptop computer and other electronic devices.
"He's known since May 9 that he was under investigation," Johnson said.
According to Johnson, the Runnion case surfaced from a case that the nearby Keene (N.H.) Police Department was working on. Johnson said the young person had sent Runnion pornographic photographs. The detective refused to disclose the gender or age of the person, only saying that the minor was under the age of 16.
"It's a continuing investigation that began in the Keene Police Department," he said.
Runnion allegedly used the Internet to solicit the minor in a sexual way and had solicited and accepted nude images of the minor. The two had also been discussing meeting, Johnson said.
Johnson said that a forensic exam of Runnion's computer turned up the child pornography.
After his arrest by police, Runnion was released on personal recognizance because of his ties to the community, Johnson said. As a condition of his release, he was ordered not to use the Internet pending his arraignment, the detective said.
susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com
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