A corrections officer at the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office is on leave after he was arrested for domestic violence and rape charges this week. 

Craig A. Daley, who has worked at the sheriff’s office going back to at least 2016, pleaded not guilty to assault and battery on a household or family member and rape in Edgartown District Court on Monday and was ordered held without bail. 

Mr. Daley, 44, of Edgartown, was arrested Sunday by Edgartown police at a residence in town around 10 a.m., according to acting Chief Chris Dolby.

Mr. Dolby declined to give further details on the case, citing state laws that shield the release of reports on rape and domestic violence. 

According to court documents, the offenses took place in August and September 2024. During a dangerousness hearing in Edgartown on Thursday, prosecutors and Mr. Daley’s attorney Robert Moriarty alluded to some of the allegations. 

While Mr. Daley stood in the courtroom, sporting a black and red plaid puffer jacket and a KN-95 mask, assistant district attorney John Wheatley said Mr. Daley engaged in a “pattern of coercive action and control” against the victim, a woman from Jamaica who he had been in a relationship with. 

Mr. Wheatley said the woman told officials that she had been punched in the face following an argument, and Mr. Daley dragged her to a beach and threatened her. 

Because Mr. Daley had access to firearms and worked in law enforcement, the woman was scared to come forward, Mr. Wheatley told a listening Judge Paul Pino. 

Mr. Wheatley asked that Mr. Daley be held without bail going forward in the case, a request that Mr. Moriarty vehemently objected to. 

Mr. Moriarty, a seasoned defense attorney, said he had dealt with cases where the only option was to hold the defendant. This case, he told the judge, was not that. 

He claimed the allegations of rape came only after Edgartown police had probable cause to arrest the woman after she had thrown a drink on Mr. Daley. 

He claimed she made the rape charges up, and Mr. Daley had an alibi for the day of the alleged rape. 

Mr. Moriarty asked that Mr. Daley’s bail be set at $1,000 due to the serious nature of the charges. 

Judge Pino determined that Mr. Daley would be held on $7,500 bail. He would also have to surrender his passport and firearms, and have no contact with the alleged victim. 

Sheriff Robert Ogden did not respond to a request for comment this week, but a member of the sheriff’s office human resources department confirmed Mr. Daley was on leave. 

“Our employee Craig Daley has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” said Allison Graczykowski. “Beyond that, we do not comment publicly regarding on-going personnel matters.”

Mr. Daley also faced an assault and battery charge in Edgartown District Court in 2018. He was arraigned in July of that year, though the charge was later dropped by prosecutors because the alleged victim declined to cooperate, according to court documents. 

That charge stemmed from an alleged incident in Oak Bluffs. Oak Bluffs police said they could not release the report connected to the arrest because it was related to an investigation or complaint of domestic violence and was not a public record. 

Mr. Daley has been with the department going back to at least 2016, according to state records, and made about $130,000 in 2023. 

Mr. Daley is scheduled to have a probable cause hearing on Jan. 23.