Documents

Here you’ll find the various legal filings, statements and other documents referenced in the podcast.

Eric Spofford’s response to the original story

This is the letter Eric Spofford’s attorney sent on March 11, 2022 in response to the first story NHPR published about the sexual misconduct allegations.

Letter from Piers Kaniuka

This is the communication Eric Spofford’s attorneys sent to NHPR’s Board of Trustees on May 18, 2022, including a letter they negotiated with one of our sources, Piers Kaniuka.

The lawsuit

This is the complaint Eric Spofford filed in September 2022 against NHPR and three of our sources.

The judge’s ruling on NHPR’s motion to dismiss

This is the order by Rockingham County Judge Daniel St. Hilaire granting NHPR’s motion to dismiss Eric Spofford’s lawsuit, issued April 17, 2023.

The judge’s ruling after privately viewing Lauren’s reporting documents

This is the order by Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Daniel St. Hilaire declining Eric Spofford’s request for limited discovery documents, issued December 13, 2023. This came after Judge St. Hilaire privately reviewed thousands of pages of redacted notes, transcripts, and communications he ordered NHPR to turn over. “Having now completed this review,” the judge wrote, “the Court concludes that the documents produced contain no evidence that any of the NHPR Defendants acted with actual malice.” He later wrote those documents “reflect professional and diligent reporting… On this record, Spofford has no viable basis to sue the NHPR Defendants or their sources for defamation.”

More on the legal case

This is a link to the New Hampshire Judicial Branch website, where you can read more documents in the legal case. Note: The website is typically a few months behind on the latest filings.

Eric Spofford’s response to the podcast

Here is the list of detailed questions we sent to Eric Spofford on May 18, 2023, asking him for comment prior to publishing the podcast. And here is the complete email exchange with him that followed.

Response from current Granite Recovery Centers owner

We reached out to BayMark, the company that bought Granite Recovery Centers from Eric Spofford in December 2021, with a list of questions before publishing the podcast. Here is the statement the company sent to us.

Criminal complaint against vandalism suspects

Here is the criminal complaint the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed on June 15, 2023 against three men charged for their alleged roles in the vandalism.

Grand jury indictment against vandalism suspects

Here is the federal grand jury indictment the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed on September 8, 2023 charging a fourth person in connection to the vandalism.  On September 8, federal agents arrested Eric Labarge, described by prosecutors as a close personal associate of Spofford’s. Prosecutors allege Labarge paid three other men to carry out the attacks.