A Massachusetts man faces charges that he helped a woman with mental health issues escape from a group home, then took her to his camp in Maine and raped her.

Cumberland County sheriff’s deputies arrested William Francis Duffy, 58, of Attleboro, on two counts of gross sexual assault and two counts of unlawful sexual contact.

Duffy allegedly had a three-week online chat on a website for abused women, talking with a 31-year-old woman whom he then helped to escape from a group home in Carver, Massachusetts. She sneaked out Saturday afternoon and the pair drove to a camp in Sebago owned by Duffy’s parents.

Police said Duffy then had sex with the woman against her will. Late that night, the woman was able to dial 911, hiding the telephone under her pillow.

During the encounter, Duffy threatened the woman and said if she did not have sex with him he would tie her up and have sex with her anyway, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies responded to the house about midnight and after interviewing both of them, charged Duffy early Sunday. Investigators said they believe the dispatch center located the cellphone the woman used to make the call, which helped deputies find the couple at the house on Northwest River Road.

Duffy and the woman did not know each other except through the online chat. Duffy has no criminal history in Maine, according to the sheriff’s office.

David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:

dhench@mainetoday.com

Twitter: Mainehenchman