ELLSWORTH, Maine — A Hancock man wanted on an outstanding warrant for two alleged assaults on a 5-year-old boy has been located and arrested.
Josef F. Messer, 34, of Hancock was indicted June 9 by the Hancock County grand jury on two counts of assault on a child less than 6 years old, two counts of reckless conduct, one count of aggravated assault and one count of unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs.
Messer was arrested by Deputy Dana Austin of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and taken to the county jail at about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, a jail official said Thursday.
Messer remained in jail on Thursday afternoon and was scheduled to make a court appearance on the four charges on Friday, the official said.
According to Matthew Foster, district attorney for Hancock County, the various assault and reckless conduct charges all stem from the same two alleged incidents involving the young boy, which occurred two days apart in April.
Foster said that on April 20, Messer allegedly wrapped the boy in a blanket, taped the blanket down around his face to leave his face exposed, and used a belt or bungee cord to secure his torso and arms and a power cord to secure his feet and legs, causing injuries to the child as he did so.
Two days later, Messer allegedly injured the boy again as he held him in a tub of cold water until his core temperature was reduced to 94 degrees Fahrenheit, the prosecutor said. After holding the boy in the cold water, Messer then allegedly swung him around by his ankles, the district attorney added.
Foster declined to comment on the severity of the boy’s resulting injuries.
The furnishing charge resulted from an incident on March 30, when Messer is accused of providing the boy’s mother with the prescription opioid drug Suboxone, Foster said.
BDN writer Bill Trotter contributed to this report.