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BENNINGTON â Half a year after serving a sentence for aggravated assault, a Bennington man is back in jail on new charges that include stalking his ex-girlfriend.
The man, Joshua Ellsworth, has pleaded not guilty to 13 new charges, according to court records. His two felony charges â aggravated stalking, with court order violation, and extortion â are punishable by up to life in prison because of his four previous convictions.
Authorities accuse Ellsworth, 30, of sending verbally abusive and threatening text and voice messages to his former girlfriend in January. The woman told police the messages came after she and Ellsworth broke up in early January, according to a Bennington police statement of probable cause.