Matt Lauzon, the man whose sexual abuse allegations against a former police officer have raised a public outcry in Biddeford, met with Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday to discuss how the state can better support victims of sex crimes.

Lauzon said he was thrilled about his discussion with LePage, which came a week after Lauzon spoke at an emotional Biddeford City Council meeting about the sex abuse complaint he filed with police late last year.

Sen. David Dutremble, a Biddeford Democrat who last weekend hosted a forum for alleged sex abuse victims, had planned to attend the meeting with Lauzon, but LePage asked to meet alone with Lauzon and his mother, Debbie Lauzon.

“I know the governor will do everything he can to help support and protect people from sexual abuse,” Lauzon said after the meeting. “One of the things I was most enthused about is that it’s very clear (LePage) shares my hope that we can make Maine a model state in terms of how we handle sexual abuse. He agrees with me that this shouldn’t be a partisan issue.”

The governor’s office did not respond to requests for comments on the meeting, but LePage told WCSH afterward that he is concerned about Lauzon’s allegations and that his office will help if it can.

Neither the governor’s office nor Lauzon provided details of their conversation.

Advertisement

Lauzon and his supporters are calling for the suspension of Biddeford Police Chief Roger Beaupre and Deputy Chief JoAnne Fisk while the Attorney General’s Office investigates former Biddeford Sgt. Stephen Dodd, whom Lauzon says sexually abused him repeatedly when Lauzon was a teenager.

Lauzon also is calling for outside investigations of the Biddeford Police Department, which he says is not conducting a thorough investigation of his allegations; and the Attorney General’s Office, because of Lauzon’s concerns about how the investigation of another Biddeford police officer was handled in the early 1990s.

At a meeting last weekend, Lauzon read a statement he said was from a former Biddeford detective. It alleged that an assistant attorney general had admitted compromising the prosecution of a police officer accused of molesting another teenage boy. That officer, Norman Gaudette, was never indicted.

Lauzon, who lives in Boston, also said he planned to meet Thursday with an investigator from the Attorney General’s Office. He said it would be his first face-to-face meeting with an investigator since he reported his allegations to police in October.

Tim Feeley, spokesman for the AG’s office, declined to comment Thursday on the allegations and investigation, including whether investigators were meeting with Lauzon.

LEGISLATION PROPOSED

Advertisement

Lauzon, 30, alleged last fall that he was sexually abused by Dodd more than a decade ago. After Lauzon began posting his allegations on social media two months ago, several other men came forward with similar allegations against Dodd. Others have made similar allegations against Gaudette.

Dodd, who is now retired, has never been charged and does not have a criminal record in Maine. His attorney, Gene Libby of Kennebunk, has not responded to multiple requests for comment. Gaudette has also retired and attempts to contact him have been unsuccessful.

State Sen. Dutremble said Thursday that LePage asked to meet privately with Lauzon and his mother because the governor wanted “to keep partisan politics out of it,” and Dutremble agreed.

Dutremble is considering introduction of several pieces of legislation at the request of the Biddeford City Council. Councilors asked him to seek a change in state law to allow law enforcement officers to comment on ongoing investigations. They also want a state law requiring registered sex offenders to live at least 750 feet away from schools and playgrounds.

The city of Biddeford is also drafting a local ordinance to restrict how close sex offenders can live to places where children gather. The council’s unanimous vote to have the city attorney draft that ordinance came shortly after Lauzon released a video of his confrontation with convicted sex offender Michael McKeown, whom Lauzon says molested him as a child. McKeown, who denied the allegation in an interview with the Portland Press Herald, lives across the street from the city’s Little League fields.

 


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.