2 men indicted for sex abuse of minors

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BANGOR – A Newport man who was a foster parent and a Bangor man who is a sergeant in the Army National Guard were indicted separately Monday on 22 counts each of sexually abusing children. The cases are unrelated, according to Penobscot County Assistant District…
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BANGOR – A Newport man who was a foster parent and a Bangor man who is a sergeant in the Army National Guard were indicted separately Monday on 22 counts each of sexually abusing children.

The cases are unrelated, according to Penobscot County Assistant District Attorney Alice Clifford.

Dale A. Vincent, 45, of Newport – who lived in a child-filled trailer park and was a state foster parent – was indicted Monday on eight counts of gross sexual assault and 14 counts of unlawful sexual contact involving four alleged victims under the age of 16.

Billy W. Potter, 34, of Bangor, formerly of Garland, was indicted Monday on 22 counts of sexual abuse of a minor. Potter is a staff sergeant with the Maine Army National Guard and has been working full time for more than a year as a military police officer, according to Maj. Peter Rogers, spokesman for the Guard.

Both men are scheduled to be arraigned Friday, Aug. 27, in Penobscot County Superior Court.

Vincent initially was charged last month with three counts of gross sexual assault and one count of unlawful sexual contact.

Clifford said Monday that the alleged incidents involving Vincent took place over a number of years beginning in 2000.

He remains in Penobscot County Jail unable to make bail set on July 2 at $5,000 cash or $50,000 surety in 3rd District Court in Bangor.

If Vincent were to make bail, conditions prohibit him from returning to the Elm Street trailer park where he was living or having contact with any child under age 14.

Vincent faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison per count on the gross sexual assault and five years in prison per count on the unlawful sexual contact charges.

Newport Police Chief James Ricker said when Vincent was arrested last month that the alleged victims could number in the hundreds and incidents could reach back 20 years or more.

Ricker also said that Vincent had lived in Newport for eight to 10 years and previously resided in Bangor.

Ricker said that at the time of his arrest, Vincent was caring for one child only on weekends. DHS immediately removed that child from Vincent’s care when police reported their investigation.

An alleged victim now out of Vincent’s care notified authorities of a sexual attack and prompted the intensive investigation.

Potter allegedly sexually abused four teenagers between the ages of 14 and 16 between 1998 and 2000 in Garland and in Bangor, Clifford said Monday. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison per count.

Rogers said that Potter’s status with the Guard would remain unchanged until the case against him is resolved.

Potter appeared in June in 3rd District Court in Bangor on unrelated charges of allowing a minor to possess alcohol and procuring liquor for a minor.

The case was moved to Penobscot County Superior Court after Potter requested a jury trial. A trial date has not been set.


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