WATERVILLE – A court-appointed child visitation supervisor is charged with endangering the life of a child in the case of a Fairfield woman who fled to South Carolina with her two children this month.
Jennifer Dore, 37, of Benton was supervising the visit between BethMarie Retamozzo, 34, and her children on Aug. 15 when Retamozzo drove away with the children at high speed and was lost in traffic, said Waterville Deputy Police Chief Charles Rumsey.
Additional Photos
Rumsey said Wednesday that Dore was summoned Tuesday and charged with two counts of endangering the life of a child. Retamozzo does not have custody of the children.
Dore did not report the abduction to police, speaking with them more than five hours later, after authorities contacted her, Rumsey said.
Dore was an acquaintance of the family who was chosen by all parties as someone who would be an appropriate visitation supervisor, he said.
Dore is not an employee of the state Department of Health and Human Services, he said. “She wasn’t acting in any professional capacity. She was not paid. She’s a private citizen that agreed to supervise these visits.”
He said Dore had attended court hearings about Retamozzo, was familiar with her history and knew why she needed supervised visits.
“We feel that through the action on her part — or inaction, by not reporting immediately to police — that she placed the children in danger,” Rumsey said.
Dore is scheduled to appear in Waterville District Court at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 5, he said.
Three calls placed Wednesday to Dore’s home seeking comment were not returned.
Waterville police Sgt. Jennifer Weaver and Detective David Caron went to South Carolina and brought Retamozzo back to Maine on Monday, Rumsey said.
On Wednesday, during her first appearance in Waterville District Court, Retamozzo entered no plea to two counts of criminal restraint by a parent.
The children were reported missing by their grandmother on Aug. 15. The three were later found sleeping at a rest stop on Interstate 95 in South Carolina after driving more than 1,100 miles.
Amy Calder can be contacted at 861-9247 or at:
acalder@mainetoday.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.