FRYEBURG, Maine — A young woman has told police she was held against her will and raped by a man she had just met online. Fryeburg police say the suspect and alleged victim met on an online dating site, and say the alleged crimes took place inside the man’s apartment in the town of Fryeburg.
Police say the woman voluntarily went with 29-year-old Andrew Connelly to Fryeburg. But when she tried to leave, police say he held her against her will and sexually assaulted her. Neighbor Lorraine Derener said, “That’s horrible. No one should have to go through that. And she’s only 18.”
The woman had no cellphone service, but was able to contact a friend on social media who then called 911. Fryeburg police surrounded the apartment building. Officer Heidi Johnston said, “We asked if she was there. He said, ‘Yeah, she’s right in the bedroom.’ I said, ‘I need to see her, so I’m coming in.’”
Connelly is behind bars, charged with kidnapping and gross sexual assault. He lived in an upstairs apartment. Neighbors say he was from Massachusetts and only moved in three weeks ago. All three neighbors there on the night of the alleged kidnapping and assault said that none of them heard a thing.
Derener said, “It’s a very tiny apartment. So he must have really made her scared enough not to say anything.” And not to scream, she said. But neighbor Gail Daniels questions if the 18-year-old was even kidnapped. Daniels said, “She never asked for any help. Never acted in fear.”
However, Johnston insists, “We do have a victim. And her story is her story and we’re sticking to it.” An Oxford Superior Court Judge has sealed all documents while the case is under investigation. Police, though, say this should be a lesson to other women out there now using online dating sites.
Johnston said, “You reach out to people. And sometimes, the wrong people are looking at those messages.” And Derener said, “It’s a lesson that 18-year-olds, kids in general, don’t meet anybody online. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.” If convicted, Connelly faces up to 30 years in prison.