He pleaded not guilty to all charges, and is scheduled to return to court on May 15 for a pretrial hearing.<\/p>\n
An attorney for Tibbetts declined to comment Friday. Stewart did not return a request for comment, and police in Scituate also declined to comment.<\/p>\n
Tibbetts, who now lives in Warwick, R.I., played 82 games in the NHL over parts of three seasons from 2000 to 2003. His playing career came after he was convicted of statutory rape stemming from a 1992 allegation, when he was 17 and the girl was 15, the Globe reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sentenced to probation, Tibbetts ultimately served three years<\/a> in prison after two different arrests on assault charges, including one involving assault on a police officer.<\/p>\n Since then, court records show a history of run-ins with police in Scituate, in particular the department\u2019s former chief, W. Michael Stewart<\/a>. <\/p>\n In 2019, Stewart secured a harassment prevention order against Tibbetts, alleging that he was \u201cposting fabricated stories about him on almost a daily basis\u201d on social media, according to court records. <\/p>\n Stewart told investigators that Tibbetts had made threats against him and his family for decades \u201cin retaliation for the rape investigation and charges\u201d in 1992, according to court records.<\/p>\n In one instance, Tibbetts allegedly approached one of Stewart\u2019s children in Hingham and told them their father was going to commit suicide, records show. <\/p>\n Tibbetts pleaded guilty to two charges of criminal harassment in September 2019 and was again sentenced to probation. Just days later, he was arrested for alleged drug possession and served a year in jail, according to court records.<\/p>\n After Stewart retired in 2020<\/a>, Tibbetts continued to target him on social media, accusing the former chief of framing him for crimes \u201cand ruin[ing] his life,\u201d according to court records. <\/p>\n Prosecutors charged Tibbetts with violating the harassment order, and additional charges were filed in January of this year after Tibbetts posted more videos targeting Stewart, claiming Stewart was \u201cfired for murder, drug dealing, pedophilia, drinking and driving,\u201d according to court records. <\/p>\n In another video cited in court records, Tibbetts addressed the harassment order, suggesting there was nothing Stewart could do in response to the alleged violations except \u201cbring me to court and harass me some more.\u201d<\/p>\n From 2000 to 2003, Tibbetts played in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Rangers; he also played minor league hockey in Springfield, Hartford, and on Cape Cod. The Bruins invited Tibbetts to training camp ahead of the 2006\u20132007 season, but he was ultimately cut.<\/p>\n In 2019, he ran for an open seat on Scituate\u2019s select board, and lost<\/a> decisively. <\/p>\n In the past, Tibbetts has said he had struggled with substance abuse; his record includes a 2019 arrest in Boston\u2019s Chinatown<\/a> for alleged possession of crack cocaine, less than two days after receiving a suspended sentence for the harassment charges. <\/p>\n In 2024, he pleaded no contest to vandalism and resisting arrest in Rhode Island; he was sentenced to undergo mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment, according to court records. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been my own worst enemy, I know that,\u201d he told the Globe<\/a> in 2006. \u201cMy mouth. My ego. My actions.\u201d<\/p>\n Tibbetts is no stranger to controversy on social media. Last month, he became embroiled in a feud with fellow ex-NHLer Andrew Ference<\/a>, after the former Bruins defenseman described<\/a> an altercation between Tibbetts and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux on a Penguins team plane. (Tibbetts denied<\/a> the account, though he admitted to having \u201cbeat up\u201d teammate Krzysztof Oliwa.)<\/p>\n He has also not shied away from discussing his legal troubles on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cSome guy got his feelings hurt on the internet,\u201d Tibbetts said, apparently referring to Stewart, in a video<\/a> posted to Facebook on March 20, the day of his arraignment in Hingham. \u201cOh really? My feelings got real hurt [in] 1992. They hurt my feelings real bad. What\u2019s up with that?\u201d<\/p>\n Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq<\/a> and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n