A current Pawlet Select Board member accused of punching and choking a migrant worker at his West Pawlet dairy farm, then striking the migrant’s 15-year-old nephew who tried to intervene, has accepted a diversionary sentence, allowing for no jail time, a fine, and possible community service.

Richard Hulett, 46, who runs the Deer Flats Farm in West Pawlet, a sprawling dairy farm, entered into the agreement just before he was to be arraigned on a single misdemeanor charge of simple assault stemming from the July incident. The agreement resolves the case without Hulett having to enter a plea either way.

According to a police affidavit , a Vermont State Police trooper responded to the Deer Flats Farm at 1290 Route 30, in West Pawlet on July 3 after a migrant worker reported the assault to Migrant Justice, an immigrant farmworker rights organization located in Burlington. He said that Hulett assaulted him and his nephew while they worked and resided on his farm…

A diversionary agreement is not an official sentence. It is a legal way of resolving an incident without a trial, an initial plea, or admitting wrongdoing. Typically, prosecutors refer a defendant’s case. The defendant enters into an agreement with a local Restorative Justice Center….