BANGOR, Maine — An Indian Island man who allegedly raped a Bangor woman, then forced her to ride on a bus with him to Calais remained Wednesday at the Penobscot County Jail unable to make $25,000 cash bail.
Shane Sapiel, 32, made his first court appearance on charges of gross sexual assault, a Class A crime, and aggravated assault, a Class B crime, in connection with what Superior Court Justice William Anderson called a “pretty vicious attack” on the 23-year-old victim with a knife on Sept. 2 at her Bangor apartment.
Anderson set bail at $25,000 cash as requested by the Penobscot County district attorney’s office. Conditions include no contact with the victim, not to be at her Hammond Street apartment building, no possession of dangerous weapons, including knives, and no use of alcohol or other intoxicants.
Bangor lawyer Larry Lunn, who represented Sapiel just for Wednesday’s appearance, told the judge that Sapiel had said he could not post any bail.
Sapiel did not enter pleas to the charges because he has not yet been indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury. He most likely will be indicted when the grand jury next meets on Sept. 26.
The victim and Sapiel had met the day before through a friend but did not know each other, Michael Roberts, deputy district attorney for Penobscot County, said after Sapiel’s court appearance Wednesday.
The victim told police Sapiel “forced his way into her Hammond Street apartment just after midnight on the 2nd of September,” Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said in a statement issued Wednesday morning. “The victim reported that Sapiel assaulted her with a knife and also sexually assaulted her.”
Roberts said Wednesday afternoon outside the courthouse in an impromptu press conference that Sapiel threatened the victim with a knife, cut her on the face and threatened to kill her. In an effort to calm him down, she agreed to accompany him on a bus to Calais.
Once there, she was able to get away from Sapiel and went to the emergency room at Calais Regional Hospital, the prosecutor said. She was treated for her knife cuts and other injuries and released.
Sapiel was picked up by law enforcement on Sept. 5 in Washington County for violating his bail conditions and was sentenced to 48 hours in the county lockup for that offense. He was sent to Penobscot County Jail in Bangor on Sept. 7.
He was arrested Monday at the Penobscot County Jail on the Bangor charges after he was transferred from the Washington County Jail.
Sapiel also was wanted for about $900 in unpaid fines in Penobscot County and has a warrant out of Hancock County for failing to appear on a theft charge and violating his conditions of release, jail officials said.
He is scheduled to plead guilty Friday to domestic violence assault and criminal threatening, both misdemeanors, in Ellsworth District Court, according to the Penobscot County district attorney’s office.
If convicted on the new charges, Sapiel faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 on the gross sexual assault charge, and up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000 on the aggravated assault charge.
Sapiel has a long criminal history that dates to when he was 16 and was convicted of running from police and driving without a license, according to Bangor Daily News court listings.
He also has two convictions for stealing drugs, theft, possessing marijuana and for twice violating his bail conditions. He was arrested last year on five outstanding warrants, all for failure to pay fines, and Penobscot County Jail officials found diverted prescription pills in his pockets, the BDN archives state.
Bangor police Detective Larry Morrill is the lead investigator on the case.
To the victim. I am very sorry this happened to you. Rape is so wrong on all levels. I pray that you continue to have the strength and courage you are going to need to see this through to conviction. You did the right thing by going to the authorities. So many times these rapes go unreported for a variety of reasons. Once a woman is raped, I don’t blame her for any action she takes.
To the rapist. If you did this and are found guilty and go to prison, you will have first hand knowledge of what you put this poor girl through and a lot of time to painfully sit there and think what you have done.
The sad part is; in the State’s jail they get XBox and Playstion in their cell. So how much time do you think he will spend thinking about it…. I agree with everything you say above, I disagree with the way the prisoners get to live after committing these crimes.
That’s right, OnePercent, spending time behind bars is a blast what with all the video games, great food, country club recreational opportunities, free medical care and bleeding heart liberals holding your hand and telling you what a great guy you are. Where do you get these stupid ideas? Try turning off Radio VOMit and Faux News for a change. Try using your own noggin.
Living in Maine and living in prison in Maine…honestly not much of a lifestyle difference for most people. Doing time in Maine is actually very comfortable, safe, and not a big deal.
Well Peter look into it before you start going off on me. Why don’t you ask a previous inmate….. until you know what you are talking about don’t talk. I simply said prisoners don’t have to spend time thinking about what they have done, the rest you come up with on your own.
You are extremely delusional about the prison experience in Maine-this is not California, NY or Texas and there is no big bubba.
Unfortunately, your dream of this guy being raped repeatedly just won’t happen. To be honest he will enjoy a standard of living similar to yours…living in Maine and living in prison in Maine are roughly equivalent.
Why was this man running around loose to prey on another victim?
A .45 and a hole in the ground would fix this problem.
Exactly. There is no cure for people like this. A bullet is the answer.
30 + 10 = 40 years – and you can send me the bill.
Agreed! People like him (if found guilty) should be locked up no matter the cost. People like him are a menace to society. The victim still has to go through this again to testify at his trial so why don’t you man up Shane and do the right thing for once in your life and PLEAD GUILTY!
Agreed. I will never ever have a problem with my tax dollars going to lock up people like this.
drugs
Fetal alcohol syndrome baby….he’s had trouble from day one!
My heart goes out to the victim. May you have healing in mind, body and spirit.
Forty years in jail and castration so he can never do this again. I despise hearing about crimes like this. My prayers go out to the 23 year old young woman.
…and the democrats would want this man released immediately because of a bad childhood.
Keep drinking the haterade, jdtex.
Is that what they teach you on Fox “news”?
Have you asked any Democrats, even one, what they think about strict sentencing for convicted rapists? Your assertions are built on bullsh*t, but no surprise there.
At least those pesky democrats don’t have a litmus test to decide if this was a “legitimate rape” like your republican candidates. Try reading more and taking your blinders off once in a while.
Regardless of politics, I hope this guy burns.
I’m a Democrat and I can assure you that neither I or any of my Democratic friends would want this individual released.
I am a Democrat and I think all rapists should be castrated if convicted…no questions asked.
That’s such a load of bs. I know of no Democrats myself included that would want someone like this released.
No. But, if there are mental health issues caused by extreme childhood abuse or neglect he may have suffered, the impacts of which contributed to his behavior, then these impacts would have to be considered at his sentencing in order to plan and administer appropriate treatments while he was serving any sentence of incarceration and as a condition of returning the person to the community at large.
narthwoods – no, no that would never happen… Did you forget that during ‘legitimte’ rapes a woman’s body has a super secret power that prevents pregnancy? *eye roll*
Yes, I know, but Mr. Akin did acknowledge that a few of the ‘legitimate’ rapes do end in pregnancy (maybe the woman secretly wished to get pregnant by the monster that raped her?). You know, we can have a cynical sad laugh about what they believe, but I did see a woman delegate at the Rep. convention that totally believed this myth and when told that in the most recent year of statistics, 36,000 US women were impregnated by rape she could not come up with anything to say in response, she was flabbergasted by it. These people live in their own little Fox bubbles. They should come up for some fresh air once in a while.
Of those 36,000 women that get raped and pregnant, I wonder how many are married and were raped by their husband that got them pregnant. Just curious.
Nice friend that introduced this garbage to her. Seriously what friend would introduce someone with all this criminal past.
Sounds like a pillar of the community.
Class act.How goes the fishing? Nailed a salmon and brookie yesterday. No signs of Nessie.
Only fished for about 3 hrs, caught 2 white perch….
I know a girl up in Houlton that could out fish that catch any day …..
I couldnt find the school….I tried….LOL
This is not the place for fish stores.
stories
execute him.
This is another one of those guys who simply doesn’t learn..
He’s had 16 years to perfect his craft. Time to put him away for a long time so he won’t be a menace to society anymore.
One on the reservation last month, now one off
I get the feeling that our justice system has its own ideas about “legitimate” rape as well. 150k bond facing 30 years for this guy, since he forced his way in and had a weapon. 6 months for the guy who assaulted a boy in another BDN story.
Just asking someone to go to Calais should be life without parole
Bail conditions indicate the suspect knew the alleged victim before this alleged assault, probably quite well, and over some period of time. They also indicate that he could be expected to return to the apartment building, and could consume alcohol and drugs upon his release unless ordered not to do so. It is likely that the suspect has shared previous intimacies, alcohol or drugs together with the victim in the very same apartment the alleged sexual assault took place. We do not know when the alleged knife assault took place. It could have occurred at the time or days before, or hours later. The victim indicates she consented to a bus ride from Bangor to Calais with the suspect? She may have taken this trip with him in the past … several times. They were probably both impaired. That’s what usually happens. This is not a home invasion. This wasn’t kidnapping. He was charged with neither. And, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of children being present or involved in any way, which is good. This is an all too typical story in Indian Country. I’ll bet we’re going to hear a story about poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, depression and recklessness in response to the alleged victim’s rejection. The victim appears to have obtained treatment some time the next or following days AFTER the bus trip from Bangor. She probably didn’t even call the police. The emergency room attendant’s at the Calais Regional Hospital probably did. We simply don’t know. I feel empathy for the alleged victim. I feel empathy for both of them. I am sure there is a history between them. Let’s not shoot anyone until the whole truth comes out, and it surely will. Police and their newspaper reporters, as we all know, tend to highlight only certain facts in their reports, which they rely on to either justify or sensationalize the arrests or, as with the BDN news reporters, sell newspapers. Nothing is ever as good OR as bad as it seems. She’s probably already had her sister (hypothetically speaking) send over some cigarettes to the suspect and cash for the canteen at the County Jail.
I don’t care if he is from Indian Country,Tomorrow land or Mars.If in fact he is found guilty I hope he gets the maximum sentence allowed by law. It doesn’t matter where a person is from, Rape is a very serious crime.
What, tell me, is your hope based upon? Me thinks you’ve been caught up in the hype the BDN reporter has prompted you to react to with the, obviously, misleading headline of the article. You are, apparently, unwilling or unable to understand the point I was making, which was that all may not
be as it seems, that’s all. You’re reading a headline and few sentences and, based on that, you’re will to throw all in with only two cards
showing and three more to be dealt from the judicial deck of cards. …the investigation, a trial if credible facts support the charges and, then, a fair trial of those alleged facts. All
that BEFORE any sentence under law. You’ve invested a lot of emotion and, if
for no other reason than to justify your investment and maintain your emotional
health, you’re right and, that, the facts do support the charges, and he is,
subsequently, convicted so that you can have your satisfaction. Most people,
however, will likely take a different view and see that, whenever these
tragedies happen, it is unfortunate for everyone and there are equally
important public interests to consider, in addition to the punishment you seem
overly focused on, in my view. These include the public’s desire that the
police, the prosecutor and the Courts follow the rules every step of the way,
so to speak. Short cuts, no matter how bad the alleged criminal, are always a
reason to toss the matter out of Court and allow the suspect to go “scott
free”. Then, if the police, DA and Courts obey the law and follow the
rules, and prove, before an impartial Judge in good standing, all of the facts
required by the charges, a verdict of guilty can found and the convict can then
be sentenced, again, according to the rules, which may not permit THE MAXIMUM
sentence allowed when considering all of the circumstances, including the
presence of alcohol, any pre-existing relationship between the convicted person
and the victim, provocation, granted and, later, withdrawn consent by the
victim, the victim’s reluctance to participate in the trial or give evidence,
or that the evidence given was less than credible, the remorse expressed, if
any, by the convicted person. … and so on. There is also the public interest
in sentencing the convicted person with a view, not just to punishing him, but
to rehabilitating him and restoring him to the community in the shortest
possible time with appropriate conditions of expected behavior. I was taught
that these are the considerations
So do you know Shane? I mean you seem to be defending him an awful lot here. Did you know that he is not from maine? That he is from another state? And that he has had many other charges on him in the past, actually in the past month to month and a half ago he tryed to break into his ex girlfriends house through her childs bedroom window? He has assulted before can’t say that he has actually raped anyone but he is violent and has had PO’s put on him and he is quite creepy. So I suggest that you find out things about him first. Just type his name in google and you can see more than what hes done to someone here in my town.
No. I don’t know the person. Not at all. But you do know him, it appears, and even you don’t think “he has actually raped anyone”.
You have proven my point. Not only is the Bangor Daily News headline here misleading the readers, it is hyping and sensationalizing a story that is factually and legally NOT a rape, and, quite possibly, not even a sexual assault, although it seems this guy is a seriously violent person toward some of the women he has had intimate relationships with.
Some of the comments here have been extreme. Predictable responses to the reporter’s obviously racist headline hyping of the story. The reporter knew what they were doing. I mean using the words “Indian Island” and “raping a women” is a no brainer. As are some of the responses to this story. … “A .45 and a hole in the ground” …. “a bullet is the answer”.
The truth will come out and I’m certain it will be about a male who became violent and assaulted his female girlfriend, although I am sure it is likely he has or had a knife and that he displayed or brandished it to any number of people, it is difficult to prove it, however. This may be a “He said, she said” evidentiary p.
The victim, like others he has assaulted, had a personal relationship with him, obviously. She knew him well. She knew how to calm him down and she did. She waited at a bus stop with him. She rode the bus to Calais with him … for hours. She likely attended with him at someone’s residence in Calais with him and he may have even attended with her at the hospital. She probably didn’t call the police. I think the medical staff at the hospital probably did. That was their call to make and they probably did, which is how it’s suppose to work.
On the other hand, I could be all wrong. He may not have known her at all. But, if that’s the case, then why, if he had to kidnap her and force her to sit with him on a bus to Calais, didn’t the bus driver, other passengers or anyone notice his aggressiveness or her dilemma and help her?
“Raping and forcing her to ride a bus”? Not hardly.
I think your ideas on this article and subject are incorrect. If YOU read the article you will read that he just met this woman the day before, he does have many other prior convictions and in order for her to have some sort of chance of getting away from this man alive, she agreed to take the bus ride to Calais with him ALIVE. You assume too much.
Also, if you look his name up on the web, you will see just what type of monster he is.
Monster? I gotta check this out. Thanks.
Maybe monster was a little harsh but, he is no one we would want running the streets free.
Fair enough. I respect you’re perspective and will think about it. I mean, that’s what this forum is for … discussing and debating, rethinking conclusions, etc.
If there was drugs or alcohol involved, it gets dicey. If he had “partied” with her at her apartment prior to the incident and refused to leave or came back after he left, it get even more dicey. If she paid for the bus tickets, well…. you see what I mean.
And, the prior convictions will have nothing to do with whether or not he actually did something wrong in this instance, although, if convicted of something, it’ll weigh heavy against him at his sentencing.
My point is that it is easy to discriminate against someone because of who they are, where they’re from or, even, their records. When, in fact, he may not have done everything the police or BDN reporters are claiming he did. … and that is often true, in my experience.
That’s the difference, for example, between Fox News or MSNBC and PBS or NPR.
You could be correct also in your statement. I went back and re-read what you had to comment and you are right, we all should not be jumping on this fellow quite yet. We do not know what occurred the night of their first encounter or afterwards. I apologize if I seemed a little harsh.
You’re o.k., and no need to apologize, Joy. This article can make us all somewhat emotional, as it should.
where was it said that he took her to a residence in Calais? I think you are involved as you know too much
No. But, let’s just suppose that she did attend with him at a residence there in order to get a ride either back to Bangor or to the hospital, then the whole story, the whole “forced” to take a bus” story weakens. Doesn’t it?
I don’t know any of the people involved, but I do know that a single fact can change the entire scenario from one that is a “rape”, “gross sexual assault”, etc… to one that is quite something else … except to the hospital staff in Calais who, upon treating the victim’s injuries, called the police out of their sense of duty on the 3rd or, even, 4th of September, nearly 10 days ago.
Yesterday, the Bangor Daily News reports the story … 10 days AFTER the alleged offense took place. Where were they, the BDN reporters, on the 3rd, 4th or shortly thereafter? They knew nothing about it for 10 days. … and they offer us reckless, racist hype.
They, like the rest of us, should have withheld the identity of the accused and the victim until after the trial, for both of their sake. It is just as possible that there will be a guilty plea or verdict as there is a not guilty plea and verdict at this point. Why expose them to the somewhat crude and reckless comments and responses the Bangor Daily News reporter duped everyone into making up to this point with their hype.
The reporter is probably, right now, laughing and lapping up what people have been dishing out in these commentaries. I don’t think its responsble reporting. Race baiting never is.
I didnt say that i didnt think he did it w t f I said I didnt know if he had done it before! Never said he didnt know the girl…nothing do NOT put words in my mouth! I know a girl he was with just months ago I do not know him. I do not know why the bus driver didnt realize but sadly to say that is a good point but I am thinking drugs and or alcohol had something to do with it.
Me too.
I know him well and let me tell you i took my fair share of beating and being put in the hospital.And he got away with it and i hope he gets put in jail for ever.
Then, you know him. You’ve suffered beatings from him. He should have been stopped and punished for doing these things to you. I agree with you. He should not have gotten away with any instance of abuse toward you. I am very sorry this happened to you, January.
Did you read the article? She just met him the day before through a mutual friend. I say read the article again and you may change your story.
I’ve re-read and you’re right. Let’s see what happens.
Brother… Do you have an imagination !!!! LOL
You’re right. It’s just that, when I read words like “rape” and “Indian” I want to take as close a look as is possible before I throw in the towel, so to speak, on anyone. I mean everyone is entitled to a presumption of innocence until after they have had their day in Court.
As it turns out, she may not have known him all that long. But, she did know him … through a mutual friend and they appear to have been, at some point prior to the alleged midnight assault, “friendly” with each other.Of course, he may be the “monster” everyone says he is. If that’s true, then I’m glad he’s been stopped, too.
Did you read the article? It states they were introduced the day before. I doubt they had time to share any intimacies. The article does not say HOW they met, maybe there was alcohol or even other substances involved (personally I am going to assume NONE, because I don’t know for sure), this does not give anyone the right to force himself on her. It is illegal to take advantage of someone who cannot consent, an article a week or so ago, states someone got six years for doing just that to a “friend”.
Have you ever had someone break into your house, or apartment, and rape you at knifepoint. She rode the bus with him because she was afraid he was going to kill her. He obviously has a substance abuse problem, at the very least, as well as other mental health problems, which usually accompany substance abuse. No matter what, she had the right to be safe in her own home, she had the right to say NO. The victim found her way to Calais Hospital, where I am sure she was well cared for and police notified.
This man needs to held accountable for his actions. I could wish worse than jail for him, but I could be satisfied with a significant jail sentence.
I hope this young woman gets some help dealing with this event in her life and becomes a survivor. In the meanwhile, Ihope someone tells her to say at least 100 times a day, “It is NOT my fault.” The only guilt here belongs to the perpetrator.
You’re right. … and very clear and nice way of pointing it out. Thanks.
You are welcome. Sometimes articles are updated, so I didn’t know if you posted your comment and then the detail of when they were introduced was added.
tougher penalties fortheloveofchrist! bangor is dangerous.
I am glad they finally got this guy hes been around here a bit bout time his bum is in jail and can’t make bail! I am so sorry to the woman who he did this to and they better convict him keep him away for 15 plus years!
i know him, he deserves all he gets. sorry to any and all for the abuse he has flourished on you. he is sneaky, manipulative and downright evil. not because he is from indian island either. the bdn shouldnt have used that headline. they should have used pos or mf dbag.
LOVE IT
and he needs to rot in jail, but im sure he wont.
We are going to have to get to the point of execution for all murderers, rapists, molestors and anyone with 3 or more DUIs or drug convictions. Its the only way to clean up this country.