CARIBOU, Maine — The former chief of the Caribou Fire and Ambulance Department who spent 44 years with the department before abruptly resigning is still waiting for resolution of a case that has him facing several sex charges.
Roy E. Woods, 68, remains on the trial list in Aroostook County Superior Court, according to District Attorney Todd Collins. Cases tend to move a bit slower in the region due to fewer judges and a backlog of criminal complaints needing to be resolved.
Woods was indicted in May by the Aroostook County grand jury.
The former chief resigned in January and was indicted on three counts of unlawful sexual contact that involved penetration, one count of unlawful sexual touching and three counts of assault.
Collins said there are two victims in the case, but he could not divulge any information about the ages of the victims or their statements about what allegedly took place.
Court documents stated that Woods was indicted on three counts of unlawful sexual contact with the first victim, who is identified in court documents only by her initials. The Bangor Daily News typically does not identify victims and is not publishing the initials.
The indictment charged that Woods twice had unlawful sexual contact with the first victim on or about Aug. 1, 2009, and once on or about Jan. 1, 2010. The indictment states that Woods subjected the woman to sexual contact to which the victim “had not expressly or impliedly acquiesced.”
Woods also was charged with one count of assault with the same victim on each of the same dates.
The indictment also stated that Woods subjected a second victim to unlawful sexual touching on or about Dec. 23, 2011, which is also when an alleged assault occurred.
On the assault charges, the indictment alleges that Woods “did intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause bodily injury or offensive physical contact” to the victims.
The alleged crimes reportedly all occurred in Caribou.
On Thursday, Collins said he could not comment on if any plea deals are currently being negotiated with Woods and his attorney.
Woods was not arrested and is not considered a flight risk.
The former chief’s career included 21 years as the head of fire, ambulance and emergency management services for the city. According to a copy of his resignation letter, Woods said he was resigning for “medical reasons,” and indicated that the stress of the job had become too much for he and his wife to handle.
He went on to say that he “spent his life” working to protect the city, working his way up from firefighter to firefighter/paramedic instructor and eventually chief.
Former City Manager Steven Buck, however, issued a statement indicating that he accepted the resignation “in lieu of termination” after an investigation into a complaint filed against the fire chief by a city employee.
In his statement to the media, Buck referred to an investigation into a complaint against Woods.
“An independent investigation into the personnel matter was conducted with an expanded scope,” said Buck. “After extensive review and evaluation of the results of the investigation, my own evaluation, and after reviewing these evaluations with Woods and a subsequent review of his responses, I accepted his immediate resignation.”
Buck, who served as Caribou’s city manager for 11 years, is now manager in Sanford.
Firefighter and paramedic Scott Susi, a 7-year member of the Caribou Fire and Ambulance Department, was named the new chief in March.
His father was Chief who protected and promoted him, over many more qualified and dedicated firefighters. This has been a 44 year sham!
i dont think so..apparently u dont know him
I happen to know him quite well and the only thing that surpised me is that the good ol boy network in Caribou didn’t protect him and sweep this under the rug, like is usually done here. Between the city office, fire and police departments in this town, I’ve never seen a worse example of corruption.
dont judge until u hear it all..the woman dont want to testify becuz they lied and dont want to go to jail….
doubtful
This is a MUCH larger problem in Maine’s fire service than most want to admit. The Cost of Honor for trying to stop it is very high. Until the Chiefs band together and treat it like Firefighter arson or EMS theft, behavior that simply will not be tolerated, and prosecutors get the latitude to take down the organizations (not just individuals) that perpetuate it, there will be many more victims. POGO qual, sexual hazing, and abuse of Junior Firefighters will not stop just because of the “feel good” actions in the wake of the Carleson case.
Taxpayers should be appalled at the corruption that exists within the “brotherhood” of Maine’s fire service, law enforcement and State Police. Employees within these agencies bind together like packs of wolves, protecting each other’s corruption instead of stepping up to the plate as an honest, honorable public servant employee.
a few years ago the deputy chief in Island Falls stole tens of thousands from the town and never spent one day in jail
Just no end to all this little-head thinking and acting, eh? “The Fire Chief Who Got All Gropey” and other tales of patronage and perversion.”.
It is such a shame that there is so much of this stuff going on in the fire service, especially in Aroostook County and everyone turns a blind eye because no one dares to speak about it. Just in the past few years there has been fire service leaders involved in stealing, sexual assaults, alcohol use, as well as arson within the rank and file. I hope someone can get this mess straightened out. It seems like all the honest ones have retired or moved into something more reputable.
..or fired and blacklisted,
I suspect that his [..alleged..] victims are anxious for resolution, too. Chief Woods is [..probably..] not the victim here.
If its a forced sexual encounter, he should be charged and punished. But if not, I do not see the problem. We all learn about sex at some point, most would like it sooner then later. But of course Mothers do not agree with me. Its really funny when one considers its ok for them to abort (Kill) an unborn, but do not teach them anything about sex.