A Wales man accused of shooting and killing another man while hunting two years ago is now facing several counts of child rape.
Christopher S. Austin, 43, was arrested Dec. 23 on eight counts of gross sexual assault, said Lt. Glenn Holt of the Andrsocoggin County Sheriff’s Office. All but one of the charges are Class A felonies, Holt said. The remaining charge is a Class B.
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“His victim in these cases was under the age of 15 years old and as young as 8 years old,” Holt said.
Austin is being held in the Androscoggin County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail, Holt said.
Austin had been free on $5,000 cash bail since December 2012 when he made his first court appearance on a manslaughter charge in connection with the shooting death of 49-year-old Gerard N. Parent. Parent was killed while both men were hunting near Parent’s East Road home.
Holt said Austin’s arrest last week is the result of an ongoing sexual abuse investigation conducted by the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office.
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