An 83-year-old Harpswell man remains in the Cumberland County Jail on $100,000 bail after he was arrested last month on charges of child sexual abuse, some dating back more than 20 years.

Eugene Bergeron was arrested at his home on Jan. 19 following a lengthy investigation, Lt. Donald Foss of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said.

The investigation remains open, Foss said, because detectives believe there might be more victims who have yet to come forward.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more,” he said Friday.

So far, Bergeron has been charged with two counts of gross sexual assault, a Class A felony, and three counts of unlawful sexual contact, a Class B felony. Those charges involve three different victims, all of whom were known to Bergeron, and the alleged abuse occurred between 1996 and 2007. One victim was under the age of 14, Foss said. The others were older than 14 but younger than 18.

Foss did not offer any details about the alleged abuse, but said the high bail set at Bergeron’s arraignment is a sign that the allegations are serious.

A criminal background check with the Maine State Bureau of Identification shows that Bergeron was charged with breaking and entering in 1957, when he would have been in his 20s, and was convicted of burglary in 1978.

The records show he was charged in 1995 with four counts of gross sexual assault and one count of unlawful sexual contact, but they don’t indicate that he was convicted of those charges. He is not a registered sex offender.

Foss said he was unaware of any prior abuse convictions.

Anyone with information about Bergeron can contact the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office at 774-1444.

Eric Russell can be contacted at 791-6344 or at:

erussell@pressherald.com

Twitter: PPHEricRussell