OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine — A sex offender convicted of raping juveniles was living as an unregistered sex offender in Old Orchard Beach and working locally as a baby sitter, police said Tuesday.
Michael Amico, 41, of Scarborough was among 46 people charged as a result of four months of investigations into drug trafficking allegations, conducted by the Old Orchard Beach Police Department and 12 other state, local and federal agencies.
Amico, who was described by Chief Dana Kelley on Monday as a “violent sexual predator,” is facing charges of failing to register as a sex offender and having prohibited contact with a minor.
The sweep of arrests tied to the four-month-old narcotics initiative, announced Monday by Kelley, largely consisted of drug offenses. But with two officers assigned to follow up on tips and conduct surveillance of suspects since last spring, many other cases of outstanding warrants and suspicious activity were uncovered in the process, Sgt. Gerard Hamilton explained Tuesday.
Among those falling into the latter category was Amico, a convicted sex offender who Hamilton said had not registered his Scarborough address with the state government, which keeps a publicly accessible database of sex offenders.
Making matters worse, Hamilton said, police discovered that Amico was working locally as a baby sitter. His previous three convictions include gross sexual assault of a person under the age of 14 and gross sexual assault of a person under the age of 18 while serving in the capacity of a parent, guardian or other long-term caregiver.
“In the course of a couple of investigations, we learned about Michael Amico being around a couple of children, and we learned he was a sexual predator,” Hamilton told the BDN Tuesday. “During the time we learned that he was living down here, he was supposedly saying [to the state] he was living up in the Augusta area.”
Hamilton said Amico allegedly had made arrangements through a mutual acquaintance to baby-sit for at least one family that had two children. He said police are not aware of any other families who had hired him, and said Amico is not believed to have harmed the two children.
Hamilton said police made the parents aware of Amico’s listing on the sex offender registry through a third party, and the parents stopped hiring him. The sergeant said investigators used a third-party communicator to maintain their cover while they were tracking Amico and at the same time taking steps to ensure he was unable to continue baby-sitting in the community.
“We learned that he was watching a couple’s children,” Hamilton said. “We were also told by the parents of the children that when they learned about his status, they stopped letting him watch their children.”
Amico is being held in York County Jail on a probation revocation.
If we had actual sentences for these animals, this wouldnt be an issue. I would happily pay a tax surcharge to keep people like this locked up for life.
I agree but, I think it would be hard to find a judge to give them the maximum sentence.They won’t give them the max now.Time for new judges.
Imagine being able to donate $ on your tax return for a cause like this instead of whats in place now. I would gladly donate to keep the communities safer for longer.
i would pay 20 cents and buy the bullet
Sick S.O.B.!
My co-workers have been giving me grief…I need to change my screen name!
Report this to FB, they are not even supposed to have accounts.
I just looked that name up on the Sex Offender Registry and there’s no one with that name on there. If this isn’t a true fact then you shouldn’t say someone’s name on here like that. If it is true and for some reason he isn’t on the list then report him to Facebook.
:)
It sounds like you said both were when you read your post, but thanks for the clarification. I agree with you about the waiting to get caught part. How sick is that? I wonder if the parents know.
Exactly! It did sound like they were saying that the person was on the list that’s why I checked it. I have 3 small children and don’t take child molestation lightly. I didn’t really deserve such a snotty response since I was just doing as you said which was look it up and then informing you it wasn’t there. I’m not saying I don’t believe you just that it wasn’t there.
Do you know what libel is?
It’s not libel if it’s factual.
What fool would pay a 41 year old man to be a baby sitter?
Great point!
Agree!
I remember when babysitting was a young women’s (passage into maturity) job, sometimes another Mom would earn some extra money, and now this is what’s acceptable.
These parents are either desperate, on drugs, or reaching for some jar of political correctness on a very high shelf. No matter what it’s not worth their child.
I hear you. Nowadays, there are so many more options for teen girls. Hell, McDonald’s pays over $8/hr. What teen girl in her right mind would work for a few hours after school for 2o bucks when she can earn more at a ‘real’ job? I think you’re right when it comes to desperation in finding a sitter.
Maybe some parents on “Bath Salts”…
Lets be honest, he was probably “payed” with an ebt card…
Who would leave their children alone with this guy? Lets hear more about who this” mutual acquaintance” is. Sickening.
Damn, what a great system we have in place for these perverts. The officials in charge really keep a close eye on these “violent sexual predators.” Do they ever leave their offices to actually check on these guys??????
detective Tall of Bangor was out of his office drinking and driving wasn’t he?
Why can’t we permanently attach strobe lights to these pieces of s–t? Leave the government to keep track of them- yeah, that works real well.
How about a tattoo that marks them forever so that it is obvious to everyone they meet. Sounds like fair sentencing to me.
yeah a tattoo on their face that way they can not hide it
How about branding? Tattoos can be covered up or removed. Branding can’t.
with a hard-wired recording on a loop, “Unclean, unclean, unclean.”
Why in the world aren’t we putting GPS microchips in these ahole’s? So we can track where they are in real time, It’s not like the technology doesn’t exist..Good grief!!!!
Your absolutely correct. DOC does have electronic monitoring.
GPS microchips in these ahole’s?—-LOL WELL SAID !
People cannot be too careful who they allow around their children. Please do yourself a favor and make sure you know who someone is before allowing him or her to babysit. Maine has a sex offender registry and other states do also. Don’t assume they are nice people because they seem nice.
he didn’t register. wasn’t on the list.
I agree with you. Of course, now that my twins who are 5 are in school I feel like I have no idea who they are interacting with. I talk to them often about “tricky people” and I just thank heavens that one of my twins has a sixth sense about people. She seems to be wise beyond her years vs. the other one who would probably help the person looking for their “lost puppy” because she is just very friendly and trusting. Ugh.
Before my girls were in school, though, I would not leave them in the care of anyone I didn’t know. They never went to daycare, I didn’t hire sitters… it’s so hard when they start school!
These people can’t be rehabilitated. Release the pot smokers and lock these scumbags away for life.
Sometimes these Dirtbags get “lost” and only pop up when another crime is committed. Some parents need to do a better job checking out who they entrust their children to.
Mr. Amico…you are a disgusting piece of crap. I’d like to wipe that smirk off your face with a bench grinder.
Just last week in York an officer pulled over a truck. In the truck were two registered sex offenders and a 16 year old! They were from NH and had crossed the border. They will be sentenced for being in the presence of an underage child and for crossing the border……had they feared the system, that would not have happened! Life sentences…first offense!
Another classic failure of the Maine justice system. The criminal wins, Maine loses.
If you dumb bast___s let him out again, I hope someone blows him, away!
please initiate death sentences for violent sex offenders, especially of children
You know, I am not a supporter of the death sentence, and I certainly don’t think just any accuser should be put to death. BUT, a repeated, admitted offender-ESPECIALLY ones who molest small children…well, I may be a nurse and it may not be very ‘nursey’ of me, but I agree. How else do we break patterns of abuse, and there is evidence that sexual attraction towards children is a genetic, brain malfunction.
So allowing these maniacs to ruin one child’s life is bad enough, you are okay with them possibly doing it again and then throwing the book at them? Sorry, a child molester doesn’t deserve to take another breath of air once convicted–the first time. Unfortunately in Maine, we will never see the death penalty, so in our case, they should never be able to step outside a prison ever again.
I’ve never agreed with the offenders’ register. If they have to be kept track of for life or 10 years depending on the specific conviction, don’t let them out of prison to begin with. The register doesn’t work. It’s too easy to slip through the cracks, which are wide. It’s almost an honor system, which would be humorous if the subject weren’t horrific.
This should never have even been an issue because, with what he’s done, he should have been in prison for life.
This makes me ill!! What logical explanation do the parents who hired him have??? Don’t they check references?? I’m not sure how many 40+ year old babysitters I have met in my 50+ years either.
We need to get rid of these VIOLENT SEX OFENDER!!
String em up, set an example of WHAT NOT TO BE!!
Ugly monsters!
The system wants them to be “responsible” and register. I say we need to be responsible and exterminate them.
my opinion
He is creepy ……………..I wouldn’t hire him to watch my pets or just house sit.
the police run down petty criminals who hurt no one but themselves.the general public gets their panties in a bunch if two men or two women want to marry.politicians enact laws that make no sense in relation to the provlems they are trying to adress. we make up political differences in order to have an opponent to run against. people like this get to “slip through the cracks”. pro-wrestling is real.sadly,only one of these statements is false
Why on earth are people not doing background checks on potential care-givers?It’s relatively easy(and inexpensive) information to get. Hopefully no children were hurt while under his ‘care’.
This man should never have access to children. Ever.
Ok, so lots of people have had it with these certified violent, repeat
sexual offenders and want to do away with these folks.
Fair enough ……
But what about the lawyers that helped craft a defense for
these indefensible crimes ?
Should they get a pass?
Or just wait around till they get appointed as a judge someday?
a 41 year old shows up to watch my kids.. I’d do the right thing, and not hire him, or at the very least do a background check… dumbass parents…
You can’t trust anyone today, these predators are lifelong con men who can con their way around anyone & any law out there. Scary and sad. They all should be sent to a deserted island surrounded by vicious hungry alligators. :/
Only cure for sexual predators is a bullet and shallow grave. These people get light sentences and then they’re back on the streets, prowling for kids again.
I’m sorry, but I would never hire a man to babysit my children. I know there are women predators out there, but their numbers are far less than men.
I wouldn’t let an individual on whom I hadn’t performed a background check babysit my children. Not every man who enjoys being around children is an abuser. In fact, most aren’t.
pervert child molesters deserve the death penalty instead of the lite jail time they do get they need to know that if they molest they will get the death sentance to be carried out soon as they get to jail no sitting on death row
IMO I think all convicted sex offenders should be branded with a large”P” on their forehead. No need to register then! anyone who hires them as a babysitter would be arrested for endangering a minor. If they are going to put people like this back into society, society has a right to know who they are. sort of like a “Beware of Dog” sign.
Why are these disgusting freaks allowed out of jail?? Hey Maine I think it’s time you stop filling up the jails with drug offenders and keep the pedophiles locked up for life. I would rather have my kid exposed to drugs than raped.