Biddeford Mayor Alan Casavant issued a statement Friday that praised Gov. Paul LePage for meeting with a man who says he was sexually abused by a Biddeford police officer and outlined the process that city police now use to respond to complaints against officers.

Casavant released a letter he sent to LePage thanking the governor for meeting with Matt Lauzon, a Biddeford native whose allegations against a former police sergeant touched off a sexual abuse scandal that has caused a public outcry in the city.

“This has been a very difficult road for the alleged victims, and I believe their quest has been made more frustrating by the confusing vagaries of dealing with government processes,” Casavant wrote.

Lauzon, who now lives in Boston, met with LePage on Thursday to discuss the handling of allegations Lauzon made against Stephen Dodd, who retired from the Biddeford Police Department after he was investigated by the Attorney General’s Office for similar allegations in 2002. Dodd was never charged and has no criminal record in Maine.

Lauzon’s allegations that he was molested by Dodd more than a decade ago are currently being investigated by state officials. Attempts to reach Dodd and his attorney, Gene Libby, have been unsuccessful.

After Lauzon went public with his allegations, other alleged victims came forward to push for a thorough investigation of Dodd. Alleged victims and their supporters have also raised concerns about an earlier investigation into sex abuse allegations against Norman Gaudette, who was investigated in the early 1990s while he was a Biddeford police detective. Gaudette was never indicted by a grand jury.

Lauzon and other alleged victims are pushing for the suspension of Police Chief Roger Beaupre and Deputy Chief JoAnne Fisk during the current Attorney General’s Office investigation into the accusations about Dodd. Lauzon says he believes the Attorney General’s Office and Biddeford Police Department should be investigated by an outside agency.

On Friday, Casavant outlined in a news release the process the police department is using if any other alleged victims come forward. Anyone who calls the police department with a sex abuse allegation involving a current or past member of the department is forwarded to Detective Sgt. Philip Greenwood. Those calls are not handled by Beaupre or Fisk, Casavant said.

Casavant said Greenwood gathers initial information, then forwards it to the Attorney General’s Office for investigation.

If people prefer to speak directly to the Attorney General’s Office, Greenwood will provide them with the name and direct phone number of an investigator.

“That’s actually been the process for some weeks now, but in the middle of much misinformed chatter swirling on social media channels, I thought it would be helpful to confirm this in an announcement,” Casavant said.

Casavant and members of the City Council have faced intense criticism in recent meetings for not speaking about the allegations or taking action, such as suspending the police chief. Casavant has said he and councilors cannot speak about the case.

Lauzon said he met with the governor this week because he feels Biddeford residents need to be protected from the negligence of city officials in responding to sexual abuse allegations.

“I just called the mayor and made it clear I’d like to have a respectful, face-to-face discussion,” he said.

The City Council will hold a meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday for alleged victims and their supporters to address councilors about their concerns.

Gillian Graham can be contacted at 791-6315 or at:

ggraham@pressherald.com

Twitter: grahamgillian

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