Barbara Belmont, victims’ rights advocate in County Attorney’s Office, retires

LACONIA — For every alleged crime in Belknap County, there is an alleged victim.

Once a person has been charged with a crime, a file lands on the desk of one of the prosecutors at the Belknap County Attorney's Office. In the same office, for going on 30 years, a file has also landed on the desk of Barbara Belmont, the office’s victim-witness advocate.

Since 1991, Belmont has been reaching out to victims and witnesses and their families to inform them about the legal process, what role they may play as the case proceeds through the court, and to provide them with emotional support and victims’ rights information.

It’s been a challenging, educational, and often emotionally intense experience for Belmont, who retired this week after 28½ in the position.

Belmont came aboard as the first victim-witness advocate in the Belknap County Attorney’s Office, which was then headed by Edward Fitzgerald, who later went on to serve as a superior court judge.

“He was able to get a grant to get this program up and running,” Belmont said.

Belmont came into the job after working in the field of social work. She grew into the position through on-the-job experience.

“I had to find what to do, how to provide services for victims,” she said. She likened it to putting one foot in front of the other.

As Belmont was feeling her way into the new position, there were some in the law enforcement community who wondered why she was there in the first place.

“There was one officer who told me, ‘I don’t know what you’re here for,’” Belmont recalled.

“In a short amount of time I needed his help about one the victims I was working with in his town,” she said. “I asked him if he would go with me while I met with the victim and (the victim’s) family.”

It was a difficult conversation, and Belmont strived to explain the situation in a way that was at once frank and compassionate.

“As we were driving back to the (police) station he said, ‘Now I know why you’re here.’”

There have been many lessons she has learned along the way, but one of the most crucial is to be non-judgmental. Another is the need to be a good listener.

“An attorney once told me, ‘Never say, “I know how you feel.”’ What I need to say to a victim is, “I don’t know how you feel, but how can I help,” Belmont explained.

As she reached out to help victims, Belmont said she became increasingly confident in her role. She realized that two of the most important traits she needed of possess were patience and kindness. She understands that what she can do to help victims may fall short of the victims’ expectations – something that is especially true in cases where a crime has resulted in a death.

“I can’t bring that person back,” she said. “But that’s what they want, and that I can’t do.”

But despite the trials and tribulations, time has convinced her that being an advocate was a job she was cut out for.

The memories of some cases remain vivid, even after many years.

One notable case involved Florence Holway, a 75-year-old Alton woman who was raped in 1991 by a drunken man who broke into her house while she was sleeping. When Holway learned that then-County Attorney Fitzgerald had brokered a plea deal in which the accused, John LaForest, would serve 12½ years in prison in return for pleading guilty, she was shocked to learn that his sentence would not be much longer. Holway lobbied for tougher sexual assault punishment and now the sentence for aggravated felonious sexual assault is 10 to 20 years.

“Holway and all the victims taught me about myself and the world,” she said.

Their stories have also made her see clearly the systemic social problems that many victims experience.

“Our community is very stressed,” she said. “People are not making enough money, even though many of them are working two jobs.” She said her work with victims has convinced her that people need access to better-paying jobs, good housing and adequate childcare.

Belmont’s immediate plans are to just enjoy some time off, and then to spend more time with her 2-year-old grandson, Joseph, as well as operate her own life-coaching practice.

“It’s been a long and wonderful experience,” she said summing up her tenure. “It was great to work in the County Attorney’s Office.”