A Westbrook man charged with impersonating a public servant and gross sexual assault pleaded not guilty at his initial court appearance Friday in Portland.
Jason Foster, 34, will continue to be held at Cumberland County Jail in Portland on $20,000 bail. The charges against him include six counts of gross sexual assault, a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison; one count of theft by extortion, punishable by up to five years in prison; and nine misdemeanor counts of impersonating a public servant and two of engaging a prostitute.
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Police and prosecutors have so far not divulged the specifics of the case, but police did say Foster’s arrest was the result of an investigation by a Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy assigned to a task force targeting sex trafficking.
Foster was indicted by a Cumberland County grand jury this week and was arrested Wednesday in Saco on a warrant. The indictments allege that between October 2013 and October of this year, he compelled two separate women, unnamed in the indictment, to have sex with him a total of six times. The indictments do not elaborate on how he allegedly compelled the women to have sex, or if he pretended to be a police officer as a way to pressure them into having sex with him.
The charge of theft by extortion involved a third alleged victim, also unnamed. According to state law, theft by extortion involves taking a person’s property by threatening his “health, safety, business, calling, career, financial condition, reputation or personal relationships.”
Foster, who is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds, appeared Friday at Cumberland County Unified Criminal Court in an orange inmate uniform.
His attorney, Andrew Broaddus, opted not to argue for reduced bail, saying he had just been retained and had not had time to review the charges against his client. Afterward, he declined to comment about the case.
David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
Twitter: Mainehenchman
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