Public helps Presque Isle police apprehend fugitive sex offender

PRESQUE ISLE – Local police are crediting the public’s assistance in the recent apprehension of a fugitive sex offender and are asking for help in finding a second man who failed to register in the area as a sex offender.

Law enforcement officials said tips prompted by a press release to the media and a follow-up investigation led to the recent arrest of Kenneth Paul Dresser, 58.

Police are hoping the public will provide tips that lead to the arrest of Edward George Page Jr., 35, Detective Wayne Selfridge of the Presque Isle Police Department said on Friday.

Police began searching early this year for the two sex offenders, both of whom were required by federal and state law to register periodically with the police department in their community – Presque Isle – because of crimes they committed.

Dresser was convicted of unlawful sexual contact with a 6-year-old female as a result of a 2001 investigation. For his crime, Dresser became a lifetime registrant and was required to register with the Presque Isle department every 90 days.

Dresser last registered in December 2001 upon his release from a Maine prison. At the time, police suspected that he fled to the eastern Massachusetts area where he originally resided.

Dresser was arrested last week in Quincy, Mass., on warrants alleging that he failed to register as a sex offender and violated his probation. Local police transported him to Maine from the Boston area last week after he waived extradition, Selfridge said.

Dresser is being held without bail at the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton after he appeared for arraignment on Aug. 12 in Presque Isle District Court.

On the failure to register charge, Dresser pleaded not guilty, was held on $1,000 cash bail and faces an Oct. 14 court date in the Presque Isle court. On the probation revocation warrant, Dresser is being held without bail and will receive a hearing on Oct. 11 in Caribou Superior Court.

With Dresser in custody, police are focusing their search efforts on Page, who was convicted of attempted visual sexual aggression against a child stemming from a 2001 incident.

He has several other past convictions for sexual and personal assault crimes, and also has a second warrant out on him from Caribou Superior Court for assault.

For his crime, Page was required to register with the Presque Isle Police Department once a year for 10 years. Selfridge said Page registered in January 2003 upon serving his sentence but did not register in 2004. Police later learned that he had vacated his Presque Isle apartment soon after his 2003 registration, Selfridge said.

“Because of the crime, he was convicted, and for convictions for other personal crimes, it is important that Page be located and brought to justice,” Selfridge said. “People close to him have been interviewed, and it is felt that there may be those who are accessories to his fugitive-from-justice status.

“The Presque Isle Police Department asks the public’s assistance again in locating … Presque Isle’s only sex offender who is on the lam.”

Page has close family and acquaintance connections to the central Aroostook area.

Police describe Page as a 6-feet-1-inch, 280-pound white male with hazel eyes and dark brown hair. They believe he frequents Kittery and New York state, possibly working as a construction laborer.

Those with any information about Page are asked to contact the Presque Isle Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division at 764-4476. Residents can view a complete list of their city’s sex offenders at their local public safety complex or by visiting www.maine.gov and connecting with the Maine Sex Offender Registry.