ROCKLAND, Maine — A 62-year-old former Knox County Jail guard was sentenced Friday to five years in prison with all but one year suspended after being convicted of sexually assaulting three female inmates.
Richard S. Wellington of Warren pleaded no contest in Knox County Superior Court to two counts of unlawful sexual contact and 17 counts of unlawful touching involving three women being held at the jail. The no contest pleas resulted in convictions on the criminal charges while still allowing him to contest the allegations in any subsequent civil case.
Wellington was also ordered to serve three years on probation upon his release. He has been held in jail since September, which means he should be free sometime later this year.
Wellington was hired as a part-time corrections officer in April 2012 and was fired in August 2013. He previously had worked at the Maine State Prison.
In Maine, it is a crime for a guard to have sexual contact with an inmate because of the position of authority a corrections officer holds.
Assistant District Attorney Christopher Fernald said at Friday’s hearing that a criminal investigation began when jail officials learned that Wellington had been providing some female inmates candy bars and razors. The prosecutor said the investigation determined that in exchange for those items, Wellington would ask the women to show him parts of their bodies and that he would touch them.
One of the victims has filed a lawsuit seeking $3 million in damages against Knox County for what she said were repeated sexual assaults by Wellington during July and August 2013.
Wellington was indicted in April 2014.
Wellington had been free on bail until he was arrested again in September after allegedly threatening to shoot his wife. Since then he had been held without bail while awaiting trial. The defendant also pleaded no contest Friday to domestic violence terrorizing and violating a condition of release.
Justice Daniel Billings said this was a serious case that involved a person in a position of authority using that post to take advantage of the victims.
The prosecutor said the decision was made to enter into the plea agreement because the outcome of a jury trial is never certain. He said jurors might question the credibility of victims who were in jail for criminal convictions.
He said one victim is now out-of-state and that while each victim has cooperated with the prosecution to this point, there is always uncertainty leading up to trial concerning continued cooperation.
The victim who filed the civil lawsuit claims the majority of the incidents occurred in the laundry room and within three to four days of her release. She said the incidents started as vulgar, crude and sexual language from Wellington and progressed to him hugging her against her will. She claimed in the lawsuit that Wellington was visibly intoxicated during these offenses.
The woman said she became paranoid while working in the laundry out of fear that Wellington would harass or assault her because there were no cameras in the laundry room. She said when she heard him coming, she would go into the hallway where there were cameras.
She said Wellington would come up from behind her and put his hands down her shirt and touch her breasts, according to her lawsuit. There also were numerous instances of him grabbing her buttocks and genitalia, the claim states.
The woman said she rebuffed every sexual advance by Wellington.
This was the second legal action against the county for sexual misconduct by guards. Adam Grierson was convicted in August of gross sexual assault against a female inmate. That woman sued the county in federal court but the county was cleared and did not have to pay the victim any money.