Tag: MAINE
Man set kitchen on fire to force roommate to move out
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Maine authorities say a South Portland man set his kitchen on fire in an attempt to force his roommate to move out.
City and state officials said Monday that police and firefighters responded to the South Portland home to investigate a reported fire Sunday night. The Portland Press Herald reports the 52-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with arson Monday.
Fire Marshal’s Office spokesman Sgt. Ken Grimes reports the man lit a small fire on his kitchen table in an effort to force his roommate to move out. The roommate fled the house as the fire was happening and is unharmed.
Grimes says arson carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/06/05/man-set-kitchen-on-fire-to-force-roommate-to-move-out-officials/
Teacher accused of sleeping with student who tried kill himself indicted on sex charges
A married teacher in Maine accused of sleeping with a student was indicted Tuesday on a number of sexual assault charges.
Jill Lamontagne, 29, turned herself into authorities after she was indicted by a York County Grand Jury on six counts of gross sexual assault, two counts of unlawful sexual contact and six counts of abuse of a minor, the Portland Press Herald reported.
“The indictment was the culmination of an investigation into a relationship Lamontagne allegedly had with a juvenile, male student while she was a teacher at the school,” Kennebunk Deputy Chief of Police Michael Nugent said Wednesday, according to Seacoast Online.
Lamontagne allegedly had a relationship with the male student, 17, who was in her health class at Kennebunk High School at the time of sexual contact.
An abuse order filed by the student’s mother in Biddeford District Court states the relationship between the teacher and boy was revealed when he was hospitalized following a suspected suicide attempt.
The student ingested a concoction of ibuprofen, Tylenol, cold medicine and blood thinner Warfarin, according to the Press Herald.
The boy confessed to the relationship to his aunt a day after his hospitalization. The student and his teacher had sexual contact “numerous times, in the classroom, at her house, in her car,” the student’s mother wrote. The student said Lamontagne performed oral sex on him, adding that “other stuff happened.”
The student allegedly told his mother and a nurse at the hospital that he loved his teacher and took the mixture of medicines to attempt suicide, Seacoast reported.
Lamontagne told the student she hadn’t had a sexual relationship with anyone for two years. Court records reportedly indicate she is married and has children.
The teacher was placed on administrative leave June 12 when the boy’s family notified the school of the sexual contact. Lamontagne then filed for family medical leave, and was still on leave when she submitted her resignation in September.
Lamontagne was booked on the charges and released on $1,000 bail. She’s expected to appear in court Dec. 22.
Weatherman killed himself after he was reported for sex assault
A meteorologist in Maine who committed suicide last month was named Thursday in a sexual assault investigation — and would be charged if he were still alive, authorities announced.
Tom Johnston, who had been a meteorologist for WCSH since 2014, would face a felony charge of gross sexual assault in connection to a sexual assault that police say occurred on April 1 at a home in Newry and was reported the following morning from a hospital in Bridgton, the Morning Sentinel reported.
Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant told reporters during a press conference Thursday that Johnston, 46, was the only suspect in the assault and was identified by both a witness and the alleged victim, the newspaper reports.
Johnston, whose nickname was “TJ Thunder,” was reported missing April 3 by his girlfriend after he didn’t return home following an event at the Sunday River Ski Resort. Police found his body three days later in a wooded area in Auburn. The state medical examiner determined Johnston died of hypothermia from environmental exposure after cutting himself on both arms and losing consciousness.
Gallant told reporters he believes Johnston knew he was a suspect in the assault, adding that investigators had previously left messages for him were not unable to reach him.
The investigation is now closed since Johnston is dead. He is not believed to have been connected to any other crimes, Gallant said.
Local new reports speculated about Johnston’s involvement in an alleged assault days after his death, but Thursday’s news conference was the first time authorities confirmed that he was a suspect, the Bangor Daily News reports.