An Auburn man who was convicted of manslaughter for pushing a woman off a bridge to her death in the late 1990s has been ordered back to prison after violating his probation.
The Sun Journal reports that Justice Robert Clifford ruled that Everett Ashby, 46, violated his probation by having contact with a child under 18 at a church in 2017 and that he had sexually touched a teen with autism and mental disabilities last year. The judge ordered him back to prison for four years.
Ashby had been charged with both murder and manslaughter in the 1998 death of 24-year-old Amy Gaines of Westbrook. Ashby had pushed Gaines off Cousins Island Bridge and she fell to her death in the early morning hours of Aug. 21. Her body was found floating near the bridge the next day, according to the BDN archives.
Ashby pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge in March 2001. Under the plea agreement, the murder charge was dropped and he was to be sentenced to no more than 20 years in prison and no less than 15 years.
A Cumberland County Superior Court judge sentenced Ashby in June 2001 to 35 years in prison with 15 years suspended.
Ashby was released from prison in 2016, and he began six years of probation. That year, he was cited for theft and possessing alcohol in his car. In 2017, he also was arrested for being in a place that serves alcohol, according to the Sun Journal.
Last October, Ashby was arrested for having contact with a child younger than 18, and in January, Ashby was a suspect in the sexual assault of a 19-year-old boy with mental disabilities, the Journal reports.
If you or someone you know needs resources or support related to sexual violence, contact the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s 24/7 hotline at 800-871-7741.