Andrew Belisle, a former police officer in Kennebunk accused of sexually abusing a minor, sits in a Cumberland County courtroom Tuesday while his attorneys discuss his case with prosecutors. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Cumberland County prosecutors have filed new, more severe charges of child sexual abuse against a former Kennebunk police officer on the eve of his original trial date.

The unusual move comes after attorneys spent hours in a judge’s chambers in Cumberland County Superior Court Tuesday for what was scheduled to be a final pretrial hearing.

Andrew Belisle, 73, was indicted in late 2022 on two Class C counts of sexual abuse of a minor, as well as Class D counts of unlawful sexual contact and unlawful sexual touching. The charges stemmed from allegations that he had abused a 14-year-old several times in 2019 and 2020. He pleaded not guilty in January 2023.

Attorneys had already selected a jury and were in court for a final pretrial hearing Tuesday afternoon when prosecutors decided in a closed-door conference with the defense team that they would drop the 2022 case and file new charges.

It’s unclear now exactly what the new charges are and when his case could go to trial — Belisle will have to be indicted again by a grand jury and arraigned.

Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris said in an email Tuesday evening the new charges include a Class A count of gross sexual assault. Under Maine law, that could entail up to 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Sartoris said the original charges were dropped because “an important error was discovered from the original 2022 indictment, and my prosecutors remedied it today before it permanently harmed this case.” (Belisle is being prosecuted in Cumberland County to avoid any conflicts of interest in York County, where he was a member of law enforcement.)

She did not specify what the error was, but it’s possible the alleged victim’s age was at play; the new Class A charge can only be used for victims younger than 14.

Belisle’s attorney, Vincent LoConte, said his client had been ready for trial and the last-minute development was “no fault of our own.”

“It’s very frustrating from our point of view,” LoConte said.

Belisle declined to speak with a reporter at the courthouse.

It’s unclear what his bail requirements will be under the new charges. He was previously allowed to be out of custody on personal recognizance.

Belisle retired from the Kennebunk Police Department as a sergeant in April 2020. He spent about 45 years in law enforcement, including 30 years in Kennebunk and other posts with the Sanford Police Department and the now-disbanded Lebanon Police Department in the 1970s and 1980s, according to an interview with the Kennebunk Post.