Charges that included rape and domestic assault and battery brought against Craig Daley, a sergeant placed on leave from the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office, have been dropped.
In the courtroom on Friday, a prosecutor with the local district attorney’s office said that the plaintiff — who was in a relationship with Daley at the time of the initial complaint — was unable to proceed with the charges.
Daley, 44, from Edgartown faced allegations that stemmed from an incident reported in September of last year. After being arrested in December, Daley pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, and was placed on administrative leave from the Sheriff’s Office.
Following Daley’s initial hearing in December, his attorney said the nature of the complaints were highly suspect.
“Mr. Daley is grateful for the diligence of the prosecutors in the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office who, after looking at all the facts and circumstances, came to the conclusion that the continued prosecution of Craig on these spurious allegations was not in the interest of justice,” said Daley’s attorney, Robb Moriarty, in a statement to The Times. “All too often, there is a rush to judgment in these cases once the person is arraigned and his name appears in the paper. That happened to Craig, and Craig’s reputation will never fully recover because of it.”
Although his criminal charges have been dropped, Daley’s employment status at the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office is still uncertain, awaiting the outcome of an ongoing internal affairs investigation, according to department officials.
Dukes County Sheriff Bob Ogden declined to comment, citing the ongoing internal investigation.
