A Windham teenager was sentenced to two years of probation on Monday in juvenile court in Portland after accepting a plea deal in which the charges in two child sexual assault cases against him were reduced to felony charges of unlawful sexual contact of a minor.
Tyrell E. Gullatt, 19, sat silently beside his attorney, Robert Ruffner, as the parents of one of his victims faced him in the courtroom, pointing their fingers at him and blaming him for the harm he caused their daughter, who was 4 years old at the time of the offense in 2014.
“When my daughter has a hard time sleeping and she has anxiety, that’s your fault,” said the girl’s father, who is not being named by the Press Herald to protect his daughter’s identity.
“As a parent, one of your worst nightmares is someone harming your child,” said the girl’s mother. “Our lives were forever changed, finding out what you did to our daughter.”
Gullatt also faced a third case on Monday on a misdemeanor charge involving a third child victim, but the hearing in connection with that case was resolved behind closed doors in the Cumberland County Courthouse. The charge and results in that case are not public.
The cases against Gullatt drew additional attention after he was charged last November because he was co-captain of the football team at Windham High School, where school officials recommended him for a prestigious athletic award and scholarship even though they knew Gullatt was under investigation for sexually assaulting children.
Windham High’s football coach, Matt Perkins, and Athletic Director Rich Drummond were both aware that Gullatt had been charged with sexually assaulting minor children when they recommended him for the Frank J. Gaziano Memorial Offensive and Defensive Lineman awards in December. Gullatt, who was named a finalist in January, received a $1,000 scholarship.
Although Gullatt is legally an adult now and has graduated from high school, he was still a juvenile when he was accused of committing the offenses against each of the minor girls in 2013 and 2014. In each of the two public cases, the girls were visiting at the Gullatt home in Windham with their families and were alone with Gullatt in a room away from the adults. The girls were 4 and 5 years old at the times of the offenses, which occurred separately.
Juvenile cases in Maine are only open to the public when they are felonies, such as two of the three cases against Gullatt. Hearings in misdemeanor juvenile cases are closed, and associated court records are sealed.
At the court hearing on Monday, Gullatt appeared before Judge Cynthia Montgomery, who posed mostly yes or no questions before asking him for his plea. Gullatt admitted to the Class C felony charges of unlawful sexual contact against a minor under 12 years old under the terms of an agreement in which the more serious charges of gross sexual assault were dismissed.
Gullatt, dressed in a charcoal grey suit, did not address the families of his victims who were in the courtroom. Ruffner answered many questions for Gullatt, particularly the questions that involved more than a one-word answer.
The full sentence against Gullatt includes detention at a juvenile correctional facility up to the age of 21. Montgomery suspended the detention portion of the sentence during Gullatt’s probation term.
A prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Michelle McCulloch, described during the court hearing how Gullatt assaulted both of the victims in the felony cases. She declined to comment on the misdemeanor case after that hearing ended.
“It’s our hope going forward that Tyrell will get the help he needs,” McCulloch said.
Gullatt’s family also attended the hearing. They declined through Ruffner to comment.
“There is not a client that I can remember who more deserves my efforts,” Ruffner said, praising how Gullatt has handled himself since the allegations were first made against him.
Ruffner said that Gullatt took responsibility for his actions by admitting to the charges and accepting the plea offer.
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