Two men filed lawsuits against the city of Biddeford Thursday as fallout continues from months of controversy over sexual abuse allegations in the city.

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of Larry Ouellette and Matthew Lauzon, who claim they were abused by different now-retired Biddeford police officers during the 1980s and 1990s. Those officers were not charged after separate investigations by the Attorney General’s Office.

There have now been four lawsuits filed in connection with the allegations, which roiled city hall for seven months as alleged victims and their supporters spoke at public meetings to demand the City Council take action and suspend the police chief. City officials said for months that they were restricted by state law from discussing the allegations, but did vote not to suspend the police chief.

Lauzon, a Boston businessman who grew up in Biddeford, touched off months of contentious council meetings when he went public earlier this year with allegations that he was sexually abused by former police officer Stephen Dodd. A months-long investigation by the Attorney General’s Office ended in August with the announcement that there was insufficient evidence to prove a crime had occurred.

During those council meetings, similar allegations of sexual abuse by former officer Norman Gaudette also were discussed. Ouellette and Robert Kalex both made allegations that Gaudette abused them in the 1990s, but an investigation of Gaudette did not result in criminal charges and he continued working at the police department until his retirement in 2001.

Lauzon’s suit names Dodd, police Chief Roger Beaupre and the city of Biddeford as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that Beaupre and the city knew or should have known that Dodd was abusing boys before Lauzon’s alleged abuse and did nothing to stop him.

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Ouellette’s suit names Gaudette, Beaupre and the city as defendants. It alleges that Beaupre should have known of the alleged abuse and did nothing to stop it.

“These lawsuits are the culmination of months of investigation, analysis and research. It became clear early on that not only were these two men and others abused but that the chief and the city were well aware of what was going on with these officers long before Ouellette and Lauzon were abused and did nothing to stop it,” said Augusta attorney Walter McKee, who represents Lauzon and Ouellette. “The abuse is tragic enough. What is even more tragic is that the chief and the city has the knowledge and opportunity to stop this from ever happening in the first place but chose to turn a blind eye. And yet still today the city has failed to own up to its own failings, denied anything and everything, and never even conducted its own investigation despite being presented with a mountain of detailed evidence. Some things never change.”

City Manager James Bennett said the city had not been served with copies of the lawsuits Thursday afternoon.

“While we have not received the official paperwork, the city has a duty to the hardworking citizens of Biddeford to aggressively defend this litigation and protect their financial interests,” he said. “The residents should have great confidence that the city will prevail in this litigation, particularly given the findings of the Maine Attorney General’s Office.”

Dodd was also investigated by the Attorney General’s Office in 2002 but was never charged with a crime. He retired from the department shortly after the investigation.

In the lawsuit, Lauzon claims he was sexually abused by Dodd in 1998 and 1999 after Dodd met with Lauzon to talk about the teen’s allegations that he was sexually abused by a neighbor. The lawsuit alleges Dodd sexually assaulted Lauzon on at least two occasions and used his position of authority as a police officer to keep Lauzon from talking about what happened.

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Lauzon alleges in his suit that Dodd said the police chief would take no action to terminate him because Dodd had photographic and video evidence of Beaupre’s alleged relationship with Dodd and another person. The lawsuit does not disclose the nature of that relationship.

Ouellette’s lawsuit alleges he was abused by Gaudette in the 1980s when Ouellette was 15 and living in Biddeford. Ouellette said Gaudette sexually assaulted him for the first time after taking him to a camper in Naples and getting the teen drunk. The lawsuit alleges that Beaupre had been notified that Gaudette had sexually assaulted other minors before the alleged assault against Ouellette.

Guadette has adamantly denied the abuse allegations and he and his wife, Joanne, filed a defamation lawsuit in June against Mainely Media LLC for a series of stories in the Biddeford-Saco-Old Orchard Beach Courier the Gaudettes said amounted to a “smear campaign.”

Gaudette also filed a defamation suit against former Biddeford detective Terry Davis for allegedly making false and defamatory statements regarding the investigation in the early 1990s.

Attempts to contact Dodd by phone, email and through social media have been unsuccessful. His last known address was in Florida.

Gene Libby of the Kennebunk firm Libby O’Brien Kingsley & Champion said Gaudette was cleared of wrongdoing through a 1990 Attorney General’s Office investigation and through a separate internal affairs investigation by the Biddeford Police Department.

“What we see happening here is a conspiracy being financed by Matt Lauzon, the rich businessman from Boston, that is built on the false allegations and malicious lies of Terry Davis,” he said. “This is essentially sour grapes because the City Council rejected claims made by Lauzon and Ouellette, the Attorney General’s Office rejected claims made by Lauzon and Ouellette and (Cumberland County) District Attorney Stephanie Anderson rejected claims made by Lauzon and Ouellette. I feel confident that once a jury hears these allegations, they will reject them as well.”

 


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