November 24, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Sex charges against Rockland man are dismissed in Knox County court

ROCKLAND — Charges of gross sexual misconduct and unlawful sexual misconduct against Glen Reed, 42, of Rockland were dismissed Friday in Knox County Superior Court by District Attorney William Anderson.

Anderson moved for dismissal on the grounds that the alleged victim of the sexual assaults “now states the crime did not occur.”

Reed was convicted of two counts of gross sexual misconduct and one count of unlawful sexual contact in December 1987. During his four-day trial, Reed was charged with committing the acts against his daughter in 1984 in Glen Cove while both of the victim’s arms were in casts.

Seven months after the trial, Reed was sentenced to serve 12 years in prison.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court overturned the conviction in September 1989 when it found the testimony of a psychiatrist inadmissible. The Law Court ruled that using the expert witness to identify the child as a victim of sexual abuse as corroborating evidence was not admissible. The court remanded the case to Superior Court for retrial.

Reed was calling the media Friday to announce that he and his daughter, the alleged victim, would hold a news conference next week to “deal with the issue.”

He claimed that Anderson had intimidated his daughter into testifying and that the district attorney made misleading statements to the judge, knowing the statements were false.

Reed said that he had spent more than a year in jail and had lost his business as a result of the charges.

“If the truth comes out, it will make me happy. I want people to know what happened,” Reed said.

Anderson scoffed at the accusations. He also stressed that Reed had compiled a long record of crimes, including rape, arson and tampering with a witness.

Anderson said that he had no choice but to dismiss the case when the daughter showed up in his office Thursday with Reed’s attorney and notified him that it all had been a big lie and that the offenses had not occurred.

Anderson said the victim was contacted and agreed to testify at the second trial. The state sent her air fare to come to Maine from out of state, but she never appeared. The case was continued and scheduled for trial in September.

“I’m very upset that I had to dismiss the case,” Anderson said, “but there was nothing else I could do.”


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