Three women claim that Michael Johnson had sex with them when they were under 14.
AUBURN – A popular Little League and youth basketball coach has been charged with seven counts of rape stemming from incidents in the 1980s.
Michael Johnson, a former volunteer coach for the YMCA and the Auburn Suburban Little League, was indicted this week on seven charges of gross sexual misconduct.
The charges are the result of allegations made by three women, who claim that Johnson had sex with them in the late 1980s.
At the time, all of the girls were under 14 years old.
According to Auburn Police Detective Mitchell Sweetser, who investigated the case for about a year, Johnson did not coach the girls. But he met them while hanging out at the YMCA in Auburn.
Under Maine law, an adult who has sex with someone under 14 can be charged with rape, even if the sex was consensual.
The official name for the charge is currently gross sexual assault. Johnson was charged with gross sexual misconduct because that was the charge in the 1980s when the alleged incidents occurred.
The maximum sentence for each count ranges from 20 to 40 years, depending on the circumstances.
Sweetser said the women first came forward in 1993 with allegations against Johnson.
At the time, Sweetser said, they were much younger and they were not ready to pursue the charges. The case was put on hold until about a year ago, when one of the women called police to ask if it was too late to do something.
Since Maine law has no statute of limitations for sex charges involving victims who are 16 or younger, Sweetser reopened the investigation.
Johnson, now 38, lives on Empire Road in Poland. His phone number is not listed, and he could not be reached for comment.
According to Jim Lawler, the executive director of the YMCA, Johnson has not coached Little League or Biddy Basketball for more than 10 years. Lawler believes Johnson stopped coaching around 1988 and started working for the now-defunct Goldsmith Sporting Goods.
“I can’t even tell you the last time I saw him,” Lawler said.
He described Johnson as a talented coach who was liked by many parents. He mostly coached the younger teams made up of third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders.
His alleged victims were a year or two older, Sweetser said.
The dates of the seven alleged incidents stem from Oct. 1, 1986, to June 15, 1988. The first two counts list different victims, and the remaining five involve a third woman.
At least one other woman has come forward with allegations against Johnson, but she did not want to press charges, Sweetser said. Police are looking for others who may have been involved with him.
“He’s not hanging around the YMCA anymore,” Sweetser added. “Whether or not the conduct has ended, we still don’t know.”
Johnson is scheduled to appear in Androscoggin County Superior Court on Dec. 30 to enter pleas of guilty or not guilty.
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