A judge has ruled that the Kennebunk man who triggered Maine’s first Amber Alert will not be allowed to post bail as he awaits trial on charges of gross sexual assault, aggravated assault, burglary and criminal restraint.

Gary Traynham, 39, is accused of raping his ex-girlfriend at her apartment in Sanford in November 2009, then abducting their 2-year-old daughter and taking her to New Hampshire, prompting the Amber Alert.

At a bail hearing Nov. 4, Traynham’s attorney asked Superior Court Justice G. Arthur Brennan to allow his client to post bail. Amy Fairfield argued that some of the forensic evidence does not support claims by the victim, Lisa Gould, and that her statements to police have been inconsistent.

But Brennan ruled that Gould’s testimony at the hearing was sufficient to establish probable cause. Gould said she feared for her life during the violent attack against her.

“The direct testimony is supported by the observations of the law enforcement and medical personnel who attended the victim in the immediate aftermath of the event,” Brennan wrote in his order.

Thad West, an assistant district attorney for York County, said he was pleased with Brennan’s order. Fairfield could not be reached Monday.

Sanford police responded to a call from the Timber Ridge apartments on the morning of Nov. 9, 2009. They found Gould crying and disheveled, with blood on her mouth and ear. She also had abrasions and bruises on her neck, chest and arms.

Gould told police that her ex-boyfriend had assaulted her and left with their daughter, Hailey. The couple had broken up recently and Gould had filed papers seeking a custody hearing.

In response to the incident, state officials issued an Amber Alert, releasing descriptions of Traynham, Hailey and the pickup truck that Traynham was driving. The alert went out via television, radio, Internet sites and message boards on the Maine Turnpike.

The Amber Alert program is a partnership of law enforcement, broadcasters, transportation agencies and the wireless communications industry to activate an urgent bulletin in the event of a child abduction. Although the national program had been active for seven years as of last fall, it had never been triggered in Maine.

Traynham and Hailey were found the next day in Milton, N.H., by a deer hunter. Traynham was arrested without incident, and Hailey was unhurt.

No date has been set for the trial.

 

Staff Writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:

tmaxwell@pressherald.com

 

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