A former Maine State Police chief accused of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old child has reached an agreement with the prosecution to plead guilty to one or both of the charges against him next month, his attorney confirmed Tuesday.
Andrew Demers Jr., 74, of New Gloucester had been scheduled to appear in the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland on Tuesday for a hearing. It was postponed until an unspecified date in November because an agreement was reached.
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Demers has remained free on $5,000 bail since his arrest March 17. He pleaded not guilty on April 16 to a two-count indictment charging him with gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact.
Demers’ attorney, Walter McKee, said he was reluctant to release details until they are finalized, since he and Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson have not yet agreed on what Demers’ sentence should be.
“It will be a contested sentence,” McKee said. “We will have a full sentencing hearing with character witnesses and sentencing information and background.”
Anderson’s office confirmed that a plea agreement had been reached, but Anderson did not respond to a request for further details.
McKee said Demers will plead guilty and will be sentenced at the November hearing.
Demers faces up to 30 years in prison on gross sexual assault, a Class A felony. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on the charge of unlawful sexual contact, a Class B felony.
Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce has said that Demers admitted to assaulting the child multiple times.
State police first received a tip about the alleged crimes March 10 and referred the matter to the district attorney, who asked the sheriff’s office to investigate. The District Attorney’s Office and McKee arranged for Demers to turn himself in at the county jail.
Demers, named a Legendary Trooper in 2003, served 26 years with the state police and held the department’s top position from 1987 to 1993, when he retired.
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