FARMINGTON – A former Rangeley school bus driver and town highway department worker will spend the next four years behind bars for fondling a 14-year-old girl and sexually abusing a 15-year-old.

Roy White, 40, of Rangeley pleaded guilty earlier this year to felony unlawful sexual contact for an incident in August 2002. He admitted drinking and sharing alcohol with the Rangeley girl, and fondling her through her clothing while driving in Coplin Plantation on her 14th birthday.

He also admitted to sexual abuse of a minor stemming from an incident in 1997 when he forced himself on a 15-year-old girl.

Because of his pleas, seven charges were dropped. They were two counts of gross sexual assault involving the 15-year-old girl, and felony unlawful sexual contact, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of procuring liquor for a minor involving the 14-year-old girl.

The 15-year-old chose not to attend Friday’s sentencing before Justice Joseph Jabar because of the emotional difficulty of testifying.

The Rangeley girl, reading a statement, said White couldn’t be placed behind bars long enough. She said she hoped the he spent every single second he sat in that “God-forsaken jail” thinking about what he did to her.

“This man ruined my life,” she said, pointing at White, who sat stoically through the proceedings, not looking at her.

She told how White emotionally abused her, physically beat her and then sexually molested her.

Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson had requested White be put in jail for five years for the two charges. “One child is too many,” he said. “Twice, it warrants the sentence the state is recommending.”

Before pronouncing the sentence, Jabar spoke about the mitigating factors in the case – that White had no prior record and had pleaded guilty – and noted the aggravating factors, which he said “disturb me.” Those factors, he said, included the impact on the victim, White’s lack of remorse and concern for the victim, and his pattern of “grooming” young girls who saw him as a father figure and then betraying them.

“This had significant impact,” the judge told White sternly. “You may be satisfying your drives, but you’re destroying the childhood of a girl. Mr. White, you are the classic example of a sexual predator. You just don’t understand what you’ve done and I don’t know if there is any guarantee you wouldn’t do it again.”

As Jabar read his sentence, the Rangeley girl cried as sexual assault crisis workers and a victim/witness advocate comforted her and held her hands.

White received two consecutive sentences of five years with all but four suspended.

He was given eight years probation. During that time, he must have to contact with anyone under the age of 16, except for his son, he is not to possess any illegal drugs or alcohol and is subject to random search and testing. He also must register as a sex offender and must go through sex offender treatment.

White worked for the Rangeley Highway Department for seven years but had to terminate his employment due to his incarceration. In the early 1990s, he was also a school bus driver in Rangeley.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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