PORTLAND — A Portland man with a well-documented history of violent sexual fantasies and behavior was sentenced Wednesday to serve seven months in jail for masturbating in front of a woman on a trail in the Fore River Sanctuary.
Steven Ricci, 47, was convicted in December of indecent conduct, which usually carries a maximum sentence of six months. The maximum was extended because Ricci had two prior convictions for indecent conduct in the past 10 years.
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Ricci, who has been in jail since his arrest in August, has already served more than five months of the sentence handed down by District Court Judge E. Mary Kelly.
Ricci was arrested on Aug. 19, three days after a woman told police a man followed her to the top of Jewell Falls in the Fore River Sanctuary, in Portland’s Stroudwater neighborhood.
She said he made a noise as if he was trying to get her attention. When she turned around, she saw him, with his shirt pulled up and his pants pulled down, masturbating.
The woman later identified Ricci in a photo lineup.
By all accounts, Ricci’s circumstances made for an unusual and difficult case.
Ricci has cerebral palsy. He suffered brain damage when he was born entangled in his umbilical cord, according to his defense attorneys.
Throughout Wednesday’s hearing, he fidgeted in his chair, rolled his head and made noises, often in objection to what others were saying, which prompted the judge and his attorney to ask him to be quiet.
Ricci has voluntarily told authorities about his violent sexual thoughts and behavior, and has expressed a desire to get treatment.
Deputy District Attorney Meg Elam outlined his history in court Wednesday.
Elam said Ricci told a mental health professional that his problem with public nudity began when he was 9 years old.
When he was 12, he grabbed the crotch of a girl he cornered in a school bathroom. As a teenager, he grabbed a teacher’s breasts and crotch, and he tried to sexually assault his mother, Elam said.
In 1992, Ricci was convicted of assault after running naked into a convenience store in Bath, jumping the clerk, breaking her ribs and biting one of her nipples. Elam said he assaulted a prostitute who refused to give him oral sex because he had only $15. She said he threatened to rape a female police officer.
In 2006, he was convicted of indecent conduct for following a 15-year-old girl after she got off a school bus in Cumberland, said Elam.
“We must do what is best to protect the world from Mr. Ricci and his dangerousness,” she said. Elam said Ricci should serve a year in prison.
Ricci’s attorney, J.P. DeGrinney, reminded the judge that Ricci was not accused of violence in the incident in the Fore River Sanctuary. DeGrinney talked about Ricci’s desire to get help for problems that he openly admits, due to “an inability to keep thoughts to himself.”
If Ricci spent a year in prison, he could lose his home, DeGrinney said, and that would make it more difficult for police to monitor him.
DeGrinney said the court had a choice of guiding Ricci’s re-entry into the community or putting him on the street.
“He’s going to get out,” said DeGrinney, who sought a sentence close to the 5½ months that Ricci has served.
Ricci also addressed the judge. He told her he knew he had problems when he was young, and now that he’s older he doesn’t want to be in jail for the rest of his life.
He said he wants to be allowed to go back to his house and “lead a normal life.”
“Please, can you do that for me?” he asked Kelly.
Kelly said Ricci’s developmental disabilities complicated her decision. While his inability to control his behavior and learn from experience poses a threat to the public, she said, he “can’t be punished like someone who is a totally healthy, functioning human being.”
Kelly sentenced Ricci to a year in jail, with all but seven months suspended, and a year of probation after his release. Conditions of his probation will include having a curfew, getting a job and going to counseling.
Staff Writer Leslie Bridgers can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
lbridgers@pressherald.com
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