NEW GLOUCESTER – Neighbors and former associates said they were shocked that Andrew Demers, 73, of New Gloucester, the former chief of the Maine State Police, has confessed, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s office, to sexually abusing a 4-year-old female relative.

After a police investigation, Demers turned himself in to the Cumberland County Jail on Monday and confessed to the crime, said Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce.

Demers posted $5,000 bail, Joyce said. According to Joyce, Demers attempted to commit suicide just prior to the investigation. He has been charged with unlawful sexual contact, a class B felony that could result in five to 10 years of jail time, Joyce said.

Joyce said that his department was investigating whether Demers had sexually abused any other children. According to Department of Public Safety spokesman, Steve McCausland, the state police learned about the case on March 10, and immediately referred the investigation to the sheriff’s office, in order to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. Joyce said that he does “not really” know Demers.

“I was shocked and saddened by this event,” Joyce said. “My heart goes out to the parents and the victim. The investigation into this focuses solely on the victim and obviously seeking justice for the victim, so we will handle this just like any other sexual assault case.”

Robert Grindle, who has lived down the road from Demers for seven years, said he had sporadically spoken with Demers in the past.

“He lived next door, a couple houses down and then moved to the bottom of the hill,” Grindle said. “He always waved and was polite.”

“He had a four-wheeler that he used to run and wanted to know if he could still come down through the field in the back,” Grindle added.

Grindle said the news of Demers’ confession took him by complete surprise.

“It blew me away when I heard about it,” he said. “There was no inkling of it all.”

Nat Berry, a New Gloucester selectman and former lieutenant in the Maine Warden Service, said he has known Demers through the years. Berry said he was “flabbergasted” by the news.

State Rep. Tim Marks, D-Pittston, a former state trooper who worked for Demers in the 1990s, also said he found the news troubling.

“I’m disappointed and saddened, and my heart goes to the family,” Marks said.

Former state Sen. Bill Diamond of Windham said that when he served as Secretary of State from 1989 to 1997, he had come to know Demers, who was then chief. Diamond, who recently published “The Evil & The Innocent,” a non-fiction book about child sex offenders, said that when it came to Demers, “I was just as nai?ve as the next guy.”

“You would never have guessed,” Diamond said. “Of course part of that is the role that he played. You automatically assume that somebody in that position is trustworthy and has high integrity.”

Diamond said that Demers’ victim would likely suffer for a long time to come.

“This poor little thing is old enough to remember some of these things, and you just worry what this little child has gone through and will go through,” he said. “It’s going to require a lot of help.”

Andrew Demers