Man charged for assault of Shapleigh teenager

SHAPLEIGH – A teenage girl is recovering after a man who asked to look at a van for sale in her front yard allegedly tried to rape her.

Edward Scott, 31, appeared in Springvale District Court on Wednesday. Judge Wayne Douglas set bail at $100,000.

Scott, who is being held at York County Jail, already was facing an assault charge for allegedly hitting his 4-month-old daughter in June.

Scott allegedly attacked the 15-year-old girl Monday as she was showing him a used van that he was considering buying, according to York County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Maurice Ouellette.

Scott was arrested shortly after his confrontation with the girl in a barn next to her house in Shapleigh.

Ouellette said that a man, later identified as Scott, had stopped at the house to inquire about a van advertised for sale in the front yard. Scott asked the girl about a seat missing from the van and she told him it was in a nearby barn, authorities said.

After Scott and the girl went into the barn, he allegedly attacked her and tried to sexually assault her, Ouellette said. She began screaming, attracting the attention of her younger brother, who came running from the house into the barn.

Her brother struck Scott with an object and Scott ran from the barn, driving off in his pickup truck. A short distance away from the house, Scott lost control of his truck and it flipped. He then ran from the vehicle, police said.

The girl provided police with a description of the pickup, which was found a short time later.

Scott was apprehended Tuesday at his brother’s house in Alfred. He was arrested on a charge of attempted gross sexual assault, a Class B felony with a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.