Ex-con gets unfriendly welcome in Vermont

GROTON, Vt. -- Virginia Onorato says she instantly fell in love with the community whose welcome sign describes it as a place "where a small town is like a large family."

But she and her husband are finding the feeling isn't entirely mutual.

Robert Onorato will be released from prison today after serving nearly 20 years on a murder and sexual assault conviction. The relocation has created a stir in this town of 900, where Virginia Onorato bought a home a year ago.

Just hours after a heated town meeting last week, her car was torched in her driveway. State police are investigating.

But on Tuesday night, state corrections officials let Robert Onorato plead his own case before a crowd of nearly 100 townspeople.

"I want to live in this peaceful town just as much as you want a peaceful town," Onorato said, trying to reassure residents he is a changed man. "I'd like to be part of this community. I realize that's going to take some serious time."

Some people are fearful about the move, citing Onorato's conviction for sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy in 1980, and his murder of a 19-year-old gas station attendant in 1978.

"I think I can safely say nearly everybody in this town thinks that what was done to your personal property is deplorable," Cory Drew told the Onoratos. "I can also safely say that the fear in this community is understandable."

Feelings of betrayal

One man who described himself as a neighbor of Virginia Onorato said he felt betrayed learning about her husband's past a year later. Annie Crowley said her 11-year-old son was "absolutely petrified" after reading about the convict's background in the local newspaper.

"You have to understand that not only are parents afraid, but the kids are afraid," she said tearfully.

Still, others welcomed and were supportive of the couple, including 46-year resident Patsy Bouley. "We'll be glad to pray for you, my husband and I," she told them.

Virginia Onorato, who met her husband through a ministry to prisoners, asked residents to give her husband a chance, saying she had "no intention to hurt or deceive anybody" by not disclosing his background when she moved to town.

"I wanted to wait until Bob got out so that he could tell you the story," she said. "I didn't marry a murderer or a rapist. I married a man who was working his guts out to get a life."

"Folks are angry that I've chosen to live in your small town," Onorato said. "I wish you could take that as a compliment, not as an insult."