DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — A Parkman man whose wife operates a day care center on Dairy Lane has been charged in Piscataquis County with seven counts of visual sexual aggression against a child.
David Russell, 69, allegedly bribed the children with candy and gum earlier this year so they would expose themselves to him, according to the Piscataquis County district attorney’s office. All but one of the children is between the ages of 4 and 12. Another is between 12 and 14.
Russell was arrested and taken to the Piscataquis County Jail on Tuesday, according to jail personnel. He was released Wednesday on $2,500 cash bail.
He is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Dover-Foxcroft on Jan. 4.
The investigation into the allegations began after children who attend the Just Us Kids day care center told their parents that Russell, the owner’s husband, had bribed them “to expose their privates to him,” according to Piscataquis County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy.
Pamela Russell, 61, was approved in 1997 by what is now the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to care for a maximum of 12 children at 172 Dairy Lane, according to Samantha Edwards, spokeswoman for the department. The agency on Oct. 12 received a complaint of alleged sexual abuse of the children at the day care by another adult household member
On the day the complaint was made, Pamela Russell agreed to temporarily close the business while the complaint was being investigated, Edwards said Thursday in an email. She voluntarily surrendered her license on Oct. 20, after being informed there was sufficient evidence for the Child Care Licensing division to take action against her.
If convicted, David Russell faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 on the six counts involving the children under the age of 12. He faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000 if convicted on the count involving the child under the age of 14.