in 1669, susannah was first formally accused of witchcraft by william sargent, jr. in turn, george martin sued sargent for two counts of slander against susannah, one for accusing her of being a witch, and another for claiming one of her sons was a bastard and another was her "imp". martin withdrew the second count, but the court upheld the accusation of witchcraft. a higher court later dismissed the witchcraft charges.