SKOWHEGAN — A Palmyra man has been indicted by a Somerset County grand jury on six sex offenses involving his girlfriend’s daughter from December 2014 to Aug. 1, 2017, when the girl was under 12 years old.
David T. Freeman, 59, was arrested in July 2018 after an 11-month search that led officials ultimately to find him in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. At the time, he was arrested on a warrant citing three counts of class A gross sexual assault. The grand jury added three charges of class B unlawful sexual contact June 20.
Each class A crime is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Class B crimes are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the case in August 2017 after a 9-year-old girl claimed she had been assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend between Aug. 4, 2016 and Aug. 3, 2017. The assault reportedly took place at a home in Palmyra that the victim and her mother shared with Freeman, Sheriff Dale Lancaster said at the time. Freeman denied the allegations after being confronted by the victim’s mother and, later, Detective Jeremy Leal. Freeman then fled Maine after Leal contacted him, according to the sheriff.
Nanticoke police helped Leal track Freeman down in the Pennsylvania city just south of Wilkes-Barre, with a population of about 10,300, according to census data. Freeman returned to Maine on July 11, 2018, and confessed to having assaulted the young girl in their Palmyra dwelling.
He was held at the Somerset County Jail. Bail conditions forbid him to have contact with the victim or any children under 18, to enter the residence or place of employment or education of the victim’s family, and to be within 1,000 feet of any school or day care site.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but an indication that there is enough evidence in a case to move forward with a trial.
Others indicted by the grand jury June 20 were:
• Terry A. Davis, 50, of Bingham, charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and two counts of domestic violence assault, all of which occurred March 9 in Bingham. Davis also was charged with violating conditions of release on May 15 in Bingham.
• Ted Ivey Jr., 38, of Littleton, charged with unlawful trafficking of scheduled drugs (methamphetamine), unlawful possession of scheduled drugs (over 14 grams of methamphetamine) and criminal forfeiture of $220 in cash, May 20 in Skowhegan. Ivey has previous convictions for unlawful possession of scheduled drugs.
• Jerry D. Sneed, 30, of St. Albans, charged with unlawful sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12 years old, March 27 in Pittsfield.
• Miranda M. Schmidt, 21, of Madison, charged with violating conditions of release, Sept. 17 in Madison.
• Patrick H. Dube, 37, of Anson, charged with aggravated operating after a habitual offender revocation, operating after revocation and criminal operating under the influence, Feb. 24 in Anson. Dube has a previous conviction for criminal operating under the influence.
• Michael B. Boothby, 33, of North Anson, charged with operating after revocation, Jan. 19 in Anson. Boothby has a previous conviction for operating after revocation.
• Lee Wallingford, 30, of Madison, charged with domestic violence criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, domestic violence assault, domestic violence terrorizing and obstructing the report of a crime or injury, Feb. 17 in Madison.
• Corey W. Paradise, 46, of Gorham, charged with burglary, eluding an officer, theft by unauthorized taking, criminal speeding, driving to endanger, operating after revocation and violating conditions of release, Aug. 20 in Moscow.
• Anthony Waack, 29, of Auburn, charged with theft by unauthorized taking and unauthorized use of property, Oct. 20 in Palmyra.
• David W. Bartlett Jr., 56, of Fairfield, charged with domestic violence assault and assault, March 24 in Fairfield. Bartlett has previous convictions for domestic violence assault.
• Donald Lee Raymond Jr., 46, of Fairfield, charged with unlawful sexual contact and two counts of gross sexual assault, all involving a minor under the age of 18, Sept. 1 in Fairfield.
• Joseph A. Fitzgerald, 35, of Solon, charged with operating after revocation, leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage and having improper license plates, May 10 in Cornville. Fitzgerald has a previous conviction for operating after revocation.
• Robert G. Smith Sr., 62, of St. Albans, charged with unlawful sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12, Feb. 17 in St. Albans.
• Duane A. Marquis, 58, of Skowhegan, charged with gross sexual assault of a student he had disciplinary authority over, March 8 in Canaan; and gross sexual assault of a student he had disciplinary authority over, March 10 in Skowhegan.
• Phillip N. Campbell, 66, of Harmony, charged with unlawful sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12 between April 1, 2016, and March 30, 2017, in Harmony and unlawful sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12 between April 1, 2017, and March 30, 2018, in Harmony.
• Jonathan Switzer, 40, of Detroit, charged with two counts of dissemination of sexually explicit material depicting a minor under the age of 12, Aug. 1 in Detroit.
• Tisha M. York, 38, of Waterville, charged with operating after revocation, June 22 in Fairfield. York has previous convictions for operating after revocation.
• Brian L. Stratton, 39, of Pittsfield, charged with domestic violence terrorizing and violation of a protective order, July 10 in Pittsfield. Stratton has previous convictions for domestic violence assault and domestic violence terrorizing.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
