BANGOR, Maine — A former Howland police chief arrested Saturday in Wells made his first court appearance Wednesday at the Penobscot Judicial Center on sex charges involving children.
Carl E. Smith, 72, of Eddington is charged with two counts of gross sexual assault, Class A; one count of unlawful sexual contact, Class A; and one count of unlawful sexual contact, Class B, according to a previously published report.
He did not enter a plea because he has not yet been indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury. The grand jury next convenes May 28.
Smith is next scheduled to appear in court on July 14.
District Court Judge Gregory Campbell set bail at $100,000 cash, as requested by the Penobscot County district attorney’s office. Conditions include not having contact with victims or their family and no possession of guns. The judge also ordered that Smith undergo a psychological evaluation.
Jeremiah Haley, who acted as Smith’s attorney at Wednesday’s hearing, said that Smith lives off Social Security and could not post such a high bail.
Smith is being held at the Penobscot County Jail.
The victims are twin 5-year-old girls, according to the affidavit written by Maine State Police Detective Jay Pelletier, filed Wednesday at the Penobscot Judicial Center. The alleged sexual assaults came to the attention of the Maine State Police through school officials, who are mandated reporters.
The girls are not related to Smith, according to the affidavit, but he is close to their family. Smith also has babysat the girls after school and in the evenings. The two were alone with Smith from April 25 to 27, according to the affidavit.
The complaint alleges the sexual assault took place on April 25 in Eddington.
Smith allegedly left the state in May but was in contact with the girls’ family members and police. On May 7, Pelletier spoke with Smith, who refused to tell the detective where he was.
Pelletier said that Smith “was contemplating three options: Come back to Maine and ‘do whatever we have to do to get this over with’; Find a hole to dive into and pull it in after him; and ‘Do away with himself.’”
Smith was the police chief in Howland when he retired in 1988, after being in law enforcement for 18 years, according to Wells police. Smith told Peletier that he did not believe he would survive a prison term, according to the affidavit.
He was arrested at about 10 a.m. Saturday after checking out of a motel in Wells. Police learned Smith was staying there the previous night but delayed arresting him because he was considered to be armed and dangerous, Wells police said in a press release.
Officers followed Smith when he left the motel and waited until he was in the least populated area of Post and Bypass roads before stopping him, the release said. He was taken into custody without incident, but officers found a loaded .38-caliber snub-nosed pistol in his boot.
If convicted, Smith faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 on the Class A charges. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000 if convicted on the Class B charge.