Man suspected in rape arrested in Bucksport

BUCKSPORT – A transient suspected of raping a Bangor woman at her home on Sunday was arrested in Bucksport on Tuesday evening after investigators had released the man’s name and description to local media as a “person of interest.”

Lt. Tim Reid of the Bangor Police Department confirmed late Tuesday that Robert Fiorentino, 50, was in custody and was speaking with detectives. He will be held without bail at Penobscot County Jail until his first appearance today in 3rd District Court.

Fiorentino is expected to be charged with one count of gross sexual assault and one count of probation violation, Reid said.

He was on probation for a sex crime conviction from the 1980s for which he served several years in prison.

“We’re very happy [to have caught him],” the lieutenant said. “This is an unusual type of case for the city, given his record.”

Fiorentino was tracked by a probation officer in Bucksport after he reportedly tried to call for a taxi, Reid said. Earlier Tuesday, investigators released Fiorentino’s identity and description as a person of interest and said they were interested in speaking to him about the incident.

The woman, who is in her 20s and a resident of Center Street, was awakened Sunday morning by an intruder who entered through an open window and threatened her with a knife and then raped her, according to police. The woman reported the crime to the police and was treated at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Since Sunday, authorities aggressively pursued leads. Reid would not say what prompted police to identify Fiorentino as a person of interest except to say that he matched the description the Center Street woman gave police.

On Tuesday, authorities checked areas where Fiorentino had been known to frequent, including Bucksport, and found that he had been there earlier in the week.

Fiorentino’s previous sexual assault conviction out of Hancock County dates back to the late 1980s.

Reid said that Fiorentino spent a significant amount of time in prison for that conviction but because his offense occurred prior to 1992, he was not required to register as a sex offender.