A second man has sued a former Biddeford police officer accused of sexually assaulting multiple teenage boys while working for the city.
Bertrand Girard alleges that former officer Stephen Dodd sexually assaulted him from 1977 to 1982, according to the lawsuit filed in York County Superior Court in January and moved to federal court this month.
An earlier lawsuit filed against Dodd by a Biddeford native who alleges Dodd sexually assaulted him more than a decade ago is pending in federal court.
The Attorney General’s Office investigated Dodd, whose last confirmed address was in Florida, last year and declined to press charges against him.
Girard’s lawsuit also names the city of Biddeford and longtime police Chief Roger Beaupre as defendants.
Girard alleges Beaupre knew of the abuse and did nothing to stop it, according to the court documents.
It wasn’t clear Wednesday night whether Girard’s allegations against Dodd were investigated.
In the lawsuit, Girard said he was 13 or 14 when he was first abused by Dodd, who met the teen when the officer brought home Girard’s brother.
“During the visit, Officer Dodd learned that Girard’s mother was sick with epilepsy and that his father, a truck driver and alcoholic, was away from home quite a bit,” the lawsuit says.
Girard alleges Dodd befriended him, stopped by his home to visit, bought him clothes and gave him beer after going for rides in Dodd’s Camaro, according to court documents.
Girard says in the lawsuit that he eventually moved in with Dodd, who would sexually assault him while wearing his police uniform, according to court records.
“When Girard would try to keep his distance from Officer Dodd, he would lure Girard back with alcohol, drugs, shelter and money,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Daniel Lilley, says Girard suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the abuse.
In court filings, Keith Jacques, an attorney for Biddeford, asks the court to dismiss the complaint because the statute of limitations on the claims expired in the 1980s. The Maine Tort Claim Act requires claims be filed within two years of the minor turning 18, according to court documents.
Girard’s claims of abuse weren’t among the allegations discussed publicly last year when Biddeford native Matt Lauzon first went public with his accusations about Dodd.
Lauzon, whose lawsuit against Dodd, the city and Beaupre is pending, led a high-profile effort to push for charges against Dodd and to hold public officials accountable for what he and his supporters characterized as a failure to protect teens from a known abuser.
Dodd resigned from the police force and surrendered his law enforcement certificate in 2003, shortly after he was investigated by the Attorney General’s Office on allegations he had sexually abused a teenage boy. No charges were ever filed against Dodd.
After Lauzon went public with his allegations, a South Portland man came forward with allegations he was abused by Dodd when they were growing up near each other in the 1970s. Richard Alexander says he reported that abuse, but Dodd wasn’t charged and went on to become a police officer.
Attempts to reach Dodd since early 2015 have been unsuccessful. Court documents indicate it isn’t known where he is living. Acquaintances have told the Portland Press Herald that Dodd lives in an RV and travels between Maine and Florida.
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