BANGOR, Maine — A Waterville man who fled the state after he was indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury in January 2015 on felony charges of sexually abusing a minor was convicted Thursday, according to Assistant District Attorney Alice Clifford.
Mark Meierdirk, 42, sexually abused a girl who was in foster care but “not his child” multiple times during 2014, the prosecutor said.
“He was convicted of three counts of sexual abuse of a minor, Class B,” Clifford said Friday. “The victim was 15, and he was 40 at the time.”
The two-day jury trial started Wednesday at the Penobscot Judicial Center and included testimony by the girl and crime lab experts who tied him to the crime using DNA evidence, Clifford said.
On the bench was Superior Court Justice William Anderson, who will sentence Meierdirk, who formerly lived in Orrington, at an upcoming date that has not been set, the prosecutor said.
Meierdirk has a lengthy criminal history. At the time he was indicted, he was on probation for convictions stemming from two separate incidents in Waldo County that include tampering with a witness, domestic violence terrorizing, assault, criminal mischief, violating conditions of release, as well as drug trafficking, Clifford said.
“He fled while on probation. He left the state and went to Florida,” the prosecutor said. “He had to be extradited back from Florida. The paperwork was filed in July 2015. He last reported [to his probation officer] in January 2015, then he was gone.”
Meierdirk has at least 17 criminal convictions on his record since 1991 that include theft, operating after suspension, failure to appear, violating conditions of release and making a false public alarm or report, Clifford said.
Ellsworth defense attorney Jeffrey Toothaker represented Meierdirk and declined to comment on the conviction Friday.
Meierdirk’s probation revocation was handled by Anderson at the end of the trial.
“The judge found he violated his probation by committing new criminal conduct as well as not reporting because he fled the state,” Clifford said. “At this point, his original sentence on the tampering was 48 months with all but nine months suspended, so he has roughly 39 months hanging over his head on that probation revocation. The other probation for the unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs was 1 year, with all but 75 days suspended, so he has a little less than 9½ months handing over his head.”
Meierdirk will be held without bail at Penobscot County Jail until he is sentenced, she said.
“I’m glad the victim got justice,” Clifford said.
Those convicted of a Class B felony face a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.