BANGOR, Maine — A Superior Court judge set bail on Monday at $10,000 cash or $50,000 surety for a Carmel man charged with sexually assaulting a girl between Aug. 1 and Sept. 10 at his home.
Richard Watson, 30, was arrested on Friday evening, according to Sgt. Troy Gardner of the Maine State Police. He made his first court appearance Monday afternoon by videoconference at the Penobscot Judicial Center.
Watson was taken into custody without incident at his residence, Gardner said.
Alice Clifford, assistant district attorney for Penobscot County, said after Watson’s court appearance that his arrest came after a three-day investigation into an alleged assault of a girl under the age of 12.
Clifford declined to make the girl’s age public but said she is related to Watson.
Watson is charged with two counts of gross sexual assault, a Class A crime; one count of unlawful sexual contact, a Class B crime; and one count of visual sexual aggression against a child, a Class C crime.
Justice Ann Murray did not ask Watson to enter pleas to the charges because the charges are felonies and he has not yet been indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury. It next convenes on Sept. 24.
Through Dennis Hamrick, the attorney representing him for Monday’s proceeding, Watson denied that the alleged incident took place.
Watson’s next court appearance is Nov. 10.
If convicted, Watson faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 on the gross sexual assault charges alone.