ATHENS — The fire chief in Athens was charged early this month with gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact after a teenager notified authorities the teen had been assaulted over a six-month period in 2014, the Somerset County sheriff said Thursday.
Chief Sean Boyd, 45, of the Athens Fire Department was arrested early this month on charges he sexually assaulted a child in 2014, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster. Boyd has resigned as fire chief. Photo courtesy of Somerset County Sheriff’s Office
Sean Boyd, 45, was arrested July 1 at his home in Athens and taken to the Somerset County Jail in Madison, according to Sheriff Dale Lancaster.
Boyd posted a $2,500 bond and was released the next day, Lancaster said.
The teenager filed a complaint June 17 with the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office. Lancaster said the alleged assaults occurred when the teen “was approximately 9 years old.”
Lancaster declined to provide additional information about the alleged victim, such as the person’s gender or relationship to Boyd.
Lancaster said the child was known to Boyd when the alleged assaults occurred.
The case was investigated by Detective Jeremy Leal of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, resulting in probable cause for a warrant to be issued for Boyd’s arrest, according to Lancaster.
An attorney for Boyd, Drew Ketterer, said Thursday evening that he hasn’t had the opportunity to review the criminal complaint and was unable to comment on the allegations.
In addition to serving as the town’s fire chief, Boyd also sat on two school boards — one for the Athens Community School and the other for Alternative Organizational Structure 94, of which Athens is a member. Other towns that are part of that structure are Dexter, Exeter, Garland, Harmony and Ripley. He resigned from those two seats July 3.
Athens Selectman Mark Munn said Thursday that Boyd resigned as fire chief a few weeks ago, and Munn believed the resignation occurred prior to Boyd’s arrest.
Boyd’s bail conditions prohibit him from contacting the alleged victim, the alleged victim’s family or anyone younger than 18, Lancaster said.
Other charges could be considered after prosecutors review the case, according to Lancaster.
Boyd is scheduled to appear July 25 at a Skowhegan court.
Lancaster released details of the arrest two weeks after Boyd was taken into custody. The sheriff said he delayed releasing the information because of the sensitive nature of the case and because the investigation was ongoing.
Editor’s note: This report was updated Friday to reflect that Boyd resigned from two separate school boards on July 3.
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