AUBURN, Maine — A Wales man will spend seven years behind bars after pleading guilty to manslaughter and unrelated sexual assault charges late last month, according to the Maine Warden Service.
Christopher Austin, 43, received 2½ years on the manslaughter charge stemming from a 2012 hunting accident in which a man was killed, according to Cpl. John MacDonald.
Austin also pleaded guilty on May 22 to three gross sexual assault charges in an unrelated investigation by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, resulting in a 15-year prison sentence with all but seven years suspended. MacDonald said the manslaughter sentence will run concurrent with the seven-year sentence.
MacDonald said the sexual assault investigation was launched as Austin awaited trial on the manslaughter charge.
The manslaughter guilty plea was the result of the fatal shooting of Gerard Parent, whom Austin mistook for a deer while hunting near Parent’s house.
According to MacDonald, the case was a textbook example of Austin failing to identify his target, as Parent was standing near his residence wearing a hunter orange vest at the time of the incident.
Austin also had an unobstructed view of Parent’s head and torso, according to MacDonald.
In addition to jail time, Austin must pay more than $5,000 restitution to Parent’s family and will serve nine years of probation, and also could lose hunting privileges for at least 10 years.
