Citing a flawed investigation by the East Lyme police department, a judge in New London on Monday dismissed stalking-related charges against a former New London man whose defense attorney says he should never have been arrested.

Stephen Nicholson, 35, had spent seven weeks in prison following his March 15 arrest for allegedly threatening, stalking and assaulting a female teenage co-worker at Dunkin in East Lyme. He had faced 11 criminal charges, including felony kidnapping and first-degree unlawful restraint.

The $250,000 bond that kept him locked up was reduced, however, to a promise to appear in court as problems emerged with the prosecution. Attorney Michael Miller, who represents Nicholson, said prosecutors realized and his own investigation determined there were serious “credibility issues with the complaining witness,” and “a lack of proper police procedure.”

Miller said the investigating officer ― who court records show is Detective Mark Comeau ― never disclosed he was neighbors with and had a personal relationship with the woman who made allegations against Nicholson.

“This prosecution was fatal from the start,” Miller said. “(Comeau) never should have been involved in the investigation.”

East Lyme police confirmed the case was reassigned earlier this year to another detective, William Bergantino, who had continued the investigation for months after Nicholson’s arrest.

Acting East Lyme Police Chief Michael Macek, who said he was not involved in the reassignment, did not respond to a question on Monday about whether Comeau was the subject of an internal investigation.

On Monday, Nicholson and his mother left the courtroom and broke down in tears in the hallway of New London Superior Court.

“My son may be 35 but he is a kid at heart. He would never hurt a fly,” Jenn Parker-Nicholson said of her son.

Comeau, Parker-Nicholson said, had a “conflict of interest, big time,” and had targeted her son. She is considering filing civil lawsuits against both the East Lyme Police Department and the woman who made the allegations.

Nicholson alleged several instances of intimidation by Comeau, including a time when Comeau, driving in a police cruiser, had yelled to him, “I’m watching you. Watch your (expletive) back.”

Nicholson said his time in prison was “mind-numbing” and “horrible.”

“I was petrified,” Nicholson said.

Assistant State’s Attorney Marissa Goldberg had referred to the case as “problematic” before moving to nolle, or end prosecution, on Monday. She said investigation into the original allegations corroborated some of the claims against Nicholson but not enough to warrant continued prosecution.

New London Superior Court Judge John Newson never used Comeau’s name in court but singled out one police officer who “failed to conduct themselves in a professional manner.”

Newson called it “a troubling case in that certain people did not do their job and honor the trust we should have in them.”

Victim sues Dunkin

While her name was never uttered in court, Nicholson’s teenage co-worker is identified in a federal civil lawsuit as Claire Killin, a graduate of East Lyme High School.

Killin filed the suit, dated Oct. 9, against the owners and managers of Dunkin, claiming among other things she was harassed and discriminated against because of her nationality. Killin was fired from Dunkin on May 12, 2023, after three write-ups for not closing the store properly, the suit claims.

Killin filed the suit from her home in the United Kingdom against Buttercup CT LLC and several individuals working at the 209 Flanders Road coffee shop, alleging she was “treated differently due to her gender/sex, race/color/nation of origin and her young age,” the suit claims. Killin was 17 when she first started working at the store and is now 19.

In the suit, Killin claims store managers bullied her and allowed Nicholson to harass her during her time there and provided personal information to him, placing her “at severe personal risk and danger,” the suit states.

Her claims in the civil suit mirror some of the allegations contained in the arrest warrant affidavit prepared for Nicholson’s arrest.

“Mr. Nicholson has stalked Plaintiff in person and online, at work and at home and has made sexual comments and inappropriate aggressions towards Plaintiff,” the suit alleges.

The affidavit described a pattern of behavior by Nicholson that involved manipulating Killin, who was in the country on a student visa, to believe he would report her to immigration authorities or hurt her friends and family members if she did not spend time with him.

On one occasion, Killin accused Nicholson of forcing her to go to a New London restaurant with him and behaving increasingly erratically on the drive there. She claimed he smashed her cell phone into her face when she tried to call 911 and then jammed her hand into the car door when she tried to unlock a canister of pepper spray, the arrest warrant affidavit states.

Killin claims the majority of the workplace harassment occurred when she was a minor. She turned 18 in April of 2023. Killin had a student visa and moved back with her family to the United Kingdom earlier this spring, the suit claims.

The suit alleges discrimination, retaliation, negligent supervision, intentional infliction of emotional distress and breach of privacy, among other allegations.

Killin is represented in the suit by New York-based Berlingieri Law. A representative from Berlingieri and from Buttercup did not immediately respond to request for comment on Monday.

Comeau could not be reached to comment.

East Lyme First Selectman Dan Cunningham issued a statement related to the case on Tuesday:

“Ensuring the integrity of the East Lyme Police Department, and the confidence of the citizens of East Lyme have in the Department, are among the most important duties of both the Police Commission and the Board of Selectmen. As First Selectman of East Lyme, I have the greatest official interest and duty to the citizens of East Lyme to make sure that recent unsettling matters involving the East Lyme Police Department are being addressed with the highest level of diligence. Please be assured that we are committed to restoring the Department to its former stature and moral rectitude. The dedicated police officers that have been loyal to their oath along with the law-abiding citizens of our community deserve no less,” Cunningham said.

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Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a statement from East Lyme First Selectman Dan Cunnigham.