NEW SHARON, Maine — Authorities in Franklin County are seeking the public’s help in finding a missing Twin Cities teenager and the 30-year-old man who they say refuses to return her to her family.
Fifteen-year-old Opal Swearingen was reported missing by her New Sharon foster parents on the morning of June 12. She is believed to be traveling with Charles Fontenot, a 30-year-old Lewiston man authorities later discovered she was having a sexual relationship with, Franklin County authorities said.
Fontenot is being sought by authorities on a felony warrant charging him with sexual abuse of a minor and criminal restraint. The legal age of consent in Maine is 16.
A search of the Sun Journal archives shows Fontenot has had several run-ins with authorities over the years, including charges ranging from disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and theft to operating under the influence, operating after suspension, reckless conduct and driving to endanger.
Franklin County Detective David St. Laurent said Fontenot has had limited contact with family members over the last two weeks, but has thus far refused to return Swearingen to her home.
“He’s made the statement that ‘I can’t go to prison,’” St. Laurent said. “They’ve been seen around the Lewiston area, but they haven’t been picked up yet.”
Swearingen has family ties in the Lewiston-Auburn area where she lived before she and one of her siblings were placed with the state-recognized foster home in Franklin County.
According to St. Laurent, Swearingen met Fontenot while attending high school with his 17-year-old daughter and started a relationship with him shortly after.
St. Laurent said investigators learned in recent weeks that Fontenot, who has three other children, continued seeing Swearingen after she moved to Franklin County and would travel there regularly to see her at night.
According to St. Laurent, an Amber Alert was not issued for Swearingen due to her age and the fact she willingly left the home with Fontenot, even leaving a note with her sibling detailing her plan.
St. Laurent said authorities left messages for both Swearingen and Fontenot on their cellphones, reached out to them via Facebook and remain in contact with family members on both sides in hopes of getting them to return home.
St. Laurent said Fontenot has been known to work traveling carnivals and that authorities contacted local companies to alert them to the situation. State and local authorities throughout Maine have been made aware of the situation, as well as Border Patrol.
Additionally, Fontenot has ties to Massachusetts, Texas and Mexico. If authorities learn the two have left the state, then St. Laurent said the FBI will be alerted.
The two were last seen in Lewiston on June 12 in a Chevrolet pickup 1500 with Maine registration number 1068-SW.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at 207-778-9891.
This story gives me the creeps. Hope this girl is found okay.
15 will get you 20, Mister!
20 months with all but 2 suspended…..
If I read the story right,he has a 17 year old daughter and he is 30, boy he was sowing his wild oats at a young age. Hope they catch this guy and it ends alright for the young girl.
the girl is as much as fault as the guy,if found she should be sent to juvy til she is 21 and he sent to prison for being a child molester
Wait, what?! She’s 15 and can’t consent to anything! You’re going to lock her up for being raped?
You’re going to lock her up for going with this…….this…….’person’? What crime has she committed?
15 year old girls have been charged for taking pictures of themselves and posting them online, for having inappropriate images, and being too young to be posted online.
That’s something totally different from this. Online porno pic crimes are not the same as being with a 30 y/o, either willingly or not. I don’t think there’s a crime for that, unless a crime is committed by her, while with him, then the charges would be for whatever that crime was.
Loosen your hat!
The girl was reported missing 2 weeks ago and this is just being released to the press now?? Might have had a better chance of spotting them sooner……if the media knew sooner!
There have been other writeups about it. This isn’t the first.
Oh ok. Must have been closer to where these two are from? I know there was one in the BDN yesterday, too, but that’s it. I did a search of their site.
So I guess I’m confused as to “the legal age of consent in Maine is 16”. Does this mean if she was sixteen right now that this would be ok?! He’s 30!!!
yep, it would be okay IF she was okay with it. It just means at 16 you’re old enough to make that choice (not saying 16 and 30 year olds make a good couple, just saying the law). but if she’s being held against her will, it doesn’t matter how old she is!
I believe part of the law is that 16 is age of consent, but until the girl is 18, she cannot be a certain amount of years (4 i think) younger than the person.
So 16 and 19 is okay, 16 and 21 is not. Or something to that effect.
Wrong.
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec254.html
Let’s try this again, since my original post got deleted……Thank you for posting this link!
There is one exception to the 16 year old age of consent in Maine….a minor cannot consent to a sexual relationship even at the age 16 or 17 if they are “a student enrolled in a private or public elementary, secondary or special education school,
facility or institution” and the “actor” is “a teacher, employee or other official in the school district, school union, educational
unit, school, facility or institution in which the student is enrolled.”
Depending on the age difference it is either a Class D or E crime.
Opal really loves the outdoors and the woods. Please check local campsites, wooded areas and such in Maine for them. Would be easy to conceal a truck in the trees.
The article said he has ties to other states. Any chance they might be headed to one of those? I’ve posted this to my FB, but that was a few hours ago, so I will post again. Other people need to do the same please.
My hope is that they are able to get her back safely. I have a bad feeling that this is not going to end well.
I’m wondering what his 17 year old daughter thinks of this mess. She should have a talk with him, if she hasn’t already.
What color is the pickup? Does anyone know? Would be easier to keep a lookout for it, if that was known.
Chevy Pickup 1500 with Maine registration number 1068-SW possibly beige/tan or gray/silver in color
I have two questions. First, why is she with “Foster” parents? What kind of history does this young lady have that would have her falling for an older guy and taking off. I agree that this guy has taken advantage of a young lady, but most people would agree that a 15 year old girl these days is far more advanced socially, sexually, and intellectually than any time before. The law is the law, no doubt, but i would be curious if this girl felt the need to run….Obviously she is in Foster Care for a reason to begin with, so she cannot have had an easy life to begin with.
Why she is in foster care is not the issue right now. The issue is to find her and make sure she is ok. And with all the privacy laws, you will prob never know why she is in foster care…..as it should be.
I have to disagree, Jeff. 15-year-old girls are as socially awkward, sexually naive, and clueless about many things as they’ve ever been, though none of them would ever admit it. This makes them 10x more vulnerable now than in previous times.
this sucks, i went out with opal two years ago when i was 13, and knowing she is in harms way makes me sad, and im mad knowing that i cant help her
THIS girl irl does’nt know it but she will always be branded for life with the story.UNFORTUNATELY MAINE has LAWS that PROTECT PREDATORS.NOW with this story getting attention look for and influx of PREDATORS MOVING to MAINE .
GOD HELP this GIRL,and others like her!
MAINE PEOPLE need to CRY OUT to YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES,SENATORS,GOVERNOR.
THIS STORYU is completely INSANE!
This story that you put out about a missing child was an even more exploitation of this child then what the man is doing to her. You emphasized the sexual part of this story to get readers to read. Shame on you this should have been about a 15 year old going missing with a man twice her age not about her sexual relationship. You do not know what others might have done to this CHILD and I say child because a 15 year old is clearly a child. The emphasis of the story should have been on her missing and asking the public to help find her. Not on what she was doing whether with or without her permission . It should be about finding a child that is being taken advantage of by a 30 year old man and bringing her back safely. How dare you exploit a child further by publishing something like this maybe you should do more research on this child and see what she has been through before. What do you think this article will do to her further in life if friends or others wanting to exploit her read this? This is a article that could be around for years to come and what does that mean for her and what others will think of her. Shame on you for just wanting to get readers attention without reaching out to actually help this child be found safely. Opal Swearingen is a 15 year old girl missing from New Sharon, Maine, the truck they could be travelling in is a a Chevy Pickup 1500 with Maine registration number 1068-SW possibly beige/tan or gray/silver in color. The two were last seen in Lewiston on June 12. The sheriff’s office says the man, 30-year-old Charles Fontenot, has been in contact with family members over the last two weeks and has refused to return Opal home safe.
Fontenot is charged with felony sexual abuse of a minor and criminal restraint. Truly he is the perpetrator in this case and needs to be locked up and she needs to be returned back to her family. Anyone with information on their whereabouts should contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at 207-778-2680 or 800-773-2680 . Please help find Opal and bring her back to her family safely, so she can get counseling and help that she truly needs.