AUGUSTA — A Windsor man was found guilty Friday of sexually assaulting a girl multiple times when she was 11 and 12 years old.

Jurors deliberated for several hours at the Capital Judicial Center in the second trial of Peter P. Cayouette, who was charged with three counts of unlawful sexual contact and one count of gross sexual assault. His first trial on those same charges was declared a mistrial in February 2024, when jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict after several hours of deliberations following a two-day trial.

This time a jury found him guilty on all four counts.

The victim, now 19, testified that Cayouette sexually assaulted her on an almost daily basis at his Windsor home in 2017 and 2018.

Assistant District Attorney Jake Demosthenes said in his closing arguments that Cayouette sexually assaulted the girl frequently and repeatedly, hundreds of times over a period of at least a year.

District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said sexual assault cases are difficult for all involved and holding defendants accountable requires a team approach. She praised State Police Detective Mark Ferreira for his investigation, the Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Center for its forensic interview of the girl, and Demosthenes for his prosecution in the case, but said most of all, the victim earned praise for speaking up.

“No doubt, her bravery will protect others,” Maloney said Friday.

Cayouette’s attorney, Darrick X. Banda, said the girl said different things to different people and she couldn’t provide details of the alleged incidents with Cayouette because they didn’t happen. And, Banda said, there was no physical or forensic evidence in the case.

“It’s difficult to understand how the jury came to the conclusion that these allegations were practically certain to have occurred, when the alleged victim herself could never consistently describe how the conduct occurred or, worse, on multiple occasions directly contradicted herself under oath on several key details,” Banda said after the verdict Friday.

He said no decision has been made on what the next steps might be, including whether to file an appeal.

Demosthenes said the girl had nothing to gain by making up allegations against Cayouette, or in taking the stand to testify about what he did to her, though it meant she had to tell 14 strangers in the jury about something that was difficult and embarrassing for her to talk about. He said after being sexually assaulted hundreds of times, it is understandable that the details of the incidents that took place seven years ago might be difficult for the victim to remember, and the incidents could blend together.

“You saw her on the stand. Did that look like somebody who was enjoying themselves?” Demosthenes said in his closing argument to the jury. “Did she look like someone who was just making things up? Or did she sound like someone describing horrible events that occurred almost seven years ago? The central point she’s been unwavering on has been who did this, what parts were touched, and that it happened, essentially, hundreds of times.”

Cayouette, 49, testified in his own defense Thursday, stating he never touched the girl inappropriately and never forced her to touch any part of his body.

“I don’t know why she made it all up,” Cayouette said.

Cayouette works at the Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center at Togus where, he said on the stand, he counsels veterans who are mentally ill and coming out of substance use and homelessness, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Cayouette testified that a toxic living situation formed in their home following his engagement to the girl’s mother and then the George Floyd killing, followed by protests and increased media coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. The girl, who is Black, accused him of exercising white privilege, Cayouette testified.

The Kennebec Journal is not naming the victim because the newspaper’s policy is to not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

It’s not the first time Cayouette has been before a jury on sexual crime allegations. In 2012 a jury found Cayouette not guilty of gross sexual assault following a trial at Oxford County Superior Court.

He was accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in July of 2011, while he was living in West Paris, the Sun Journal reported. He was acquitted on that charge after jurors in that case deliberated for about an hour.