WISCASSET, Maine — A Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy arrested on Tuesday sexually assaulted a young teen as many as 10 times over a period of several years in the back of his police cruiser while on patrol, according to an affidavit filed with his arrest.
Kenneth L. Hatch III, 45, of Whitefield was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of Class C felony sexual abuse of a minor for incidents that allegedly took place on Sept. 21, 2013, and Jan. 22, 2014, according to court documents.
In an affidavit filed Monday in Wiscasset Unified Criminal Court, Detective Peter Lizanecz of the Maine attorney general’s office wrote that the teen told Augusta police in May that the first incident occurred when she was 14 years old, when she said Hatch offered her marijuana in exchange for sex in the back seat of his cruiser.
She also alleged that Hatch gave her cigarettes, alcohol, money and more marijuana during about nine other encounters in the cruiser during the next two to three years.
The teen allegedly told an officer that during an encounter on Sept. 21, 2013, Hatch gave her marijuana from a plastic bag marked “EVIDENCE” that matched evidence bags that Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett confirmed were used by the sheriff’s office.
On Wednesday, Brackett issued a statement announcing that Hatch, a patrol deputy, was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a criminal investigation by the Maine attorney general’s office.
Hatch was released Tuesday afternoon on $50,000 unsecured bail. The conditions of release stipulate that he is to have no contact with the alleged victim or with girls younger than 16 years old. He also is prohibited from using or possessing alcohol, drugs or dangerous weapons.
He is scheduled to appear in Wiscasset Unified Criminal Court on Aug. 25.