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BANGOR – A Bangor man charged with sexually abusing five girls at different times in his Husson Avenue apartment pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to one count of possession of child pornography.
If convicted, Roger Dale Bates, 55, faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
In a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Bangor, a second count of possession of child pornography is expected to be dropped when he is sentenced.
A sentencing date has not been set.
He is being held without bail pending sentencing.
Bates, whose head has been shaved since his arrest, wept throughout the 45-minute hearing Friday before U.S. District Judge John Woodcock.
He pleaded guilty Friday to possessing a videotape that contained images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, according to federal court documents.
He was indicted in December by a federal grand jury because the tape was produced using materials that crossed state and international lines. He pleaded not guilty to the indictment on March 7.
Bates also was indicted in October on separate state charges by a Penobscot County grand jury. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges, which are two counts of unlawful sexual contact, three counts of unlawful sexual touching, sexual misconduct with a child, possession of sexually explicit material, and dissemination of sexually explicit material.
His trial in Penobscot County Superior Court is scheduled to be held later this month, but is likely to be continued, according to Michael Roberts, deputy district attorney for Penobscot County.
If convicted on the state charges, Bates faces up to 30 years in jail on one of the unlawful sexual contact counts because the girl was under age 12 when the incident allegedly occurred.
The mother of two of the alleged victims told detectives she had allowed her daughters, ages 7 and 12, to spend the night of Aug. 5 at Bates’ apartment, according to state court documents. The mother described Bates as the friend of a friend.
In their interviews with detectives, the girls said Bates took them to an indoor skating rink in Bangor. When they returned to his apartment, Bates allegedly compared the girls’ body parts to groceries, according to court documents.
He also allegedly removed some of their clothing and touched their chests and genitals.
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