March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

County man gets 9 years for boy’s sexual assault

CARIBOU — A former Fort Kent man was ordered Monday to spend nine years in jail for sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy who lived with him.

Lawrence Lewis, 52, was convicted in September of gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact with the child four years ago.

Justice Paul T. Pierson cited Lewis’ lack of remorse for the crimes and the “very young age” of the victim in issuing the sentence.

Throughout the trial, Lewis has maintained his innocence, claiming that he only wanted to protect the child from other abusers. During the sentencing in Aroostook County Superior Court in Caribou, Lewis asked for “compassion and mercy.”

When serving a prison sentence on a previous unrelated charge, Lewis said, he was labeled a child molester and was attacked by other prisoners.

“Your Honor will decide whether I live or die,” Lewis told the judge during a lengthy afternoon hearing.

Lewis was convicted of molesting the child while he was living in Lewis’ household with the child’s mother in Fort Kent. Lewis’ attorney, Jeff Silverstein of Bangor, argued that this case would have not occurred except that Lewis brought the child to the Department of Human Services in order to protect him from other abusers in the child’s family.

It was then that the allegations regarding Lewis were made.

The child is in a state group home outside Aroostook County.

Deputy District Attorney John Pluto recommended that Lewis receive a 16-year sentence, with six years suspended and probation for six years. Pluto pointed out Lewis’ record, which included convictions for aggravated assault and armed robbery, as well as his lack of remorse.

“Society needs some level of protection from him,” Pluto said.

The prosecutor also argued for a harsh financial penalty because of the defendant’s Veterans Affairs benefit that he received monthly.

Silverstein argued that Lewis should serve only four years in prison. The defense attorney claimed that the sex offenses did not include violence. In addition, the child had been abused by his family members before Lewis came into the child’s life.

Silverstein also claimed that Lewis had been found mentally incompetent by the VA during the time that he committed the past offenses in the 1970s. The defendant later was found competent in the mid-1980s.

Now of the Molunkus area, Lewis was sentenced to 14 years, with five years suspended and six years probation for the gross sexual assault charge. He was ordered to pay a portion of the victim’s counseling fees, which now total more than $166,000, and to make a $20 monthly payment for his probation supervision. He was ordered to take medication as prescribed by his doctor for any mental disabilities during his probation. He also was to have no contact with the victim.


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