By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Any veteran investigator will tell you that most criminal cases do not crack easily. There are distractions and annoyances. There are false leads and bogus tips. There are uncooperative witnesses and confused victims.

It was no different Tuesday night during a mock crime scene at the Cellar Door in Auburn. A dozen residents were on hand to learn how police might handle an investigation into a possible sex assault.

Things got nasty from the very start.

“This is just an ugly predicament,” said Liette Morin, a participant in Lewiston Citizen Police Academy who was playing the role of victim’s friend.

The scenario was frightening. A young lady at a party is approached by a smooth-talking man named Joe who offers her a non-alcoholic drink. Soon, she is dizzy and nauseated. She agrees to let the suave stranger driver her home and from there, her memory is hazy. She wakes up naked on the floor and has a dim memory of being sexually assaulted.

“I just want this to be over. I just want you to find the guy who did this,” Marriane Wise, playing the role of a victim, screamed at the police.

Very little went right from there. Rain soaked a window with crucial fingerprints. One potential suspect disappeared in the middle of an interrogation. There were conflicting stories, a mouthy reporter and some who doubted the victim’s story.

Still the team of citizen police persevered, with the help of veteran cops.

“If they pick up on all the pieces and follow up, they’ll solve it,” said Lewiston police Sgt. David Chick, a longtime police detective.

The victim did not want to consent to a rape kit examination. One witness generally disliked police officers and refused to talk to them. Still, Officer Jason Nadeau, who runs the Citizen Police Academy, had faith in his team of amateur investigators.

“It’s a good group,” he said. “They ask a lot of questions and they have a lot of enthusiasm.”

The academy is designed to teach residents about various aspects of police work. In its sixth week of training, this year’s group has already learned about drunken driving investigations, drug cases and the use of deadly force.

Mock crime scenes give residents an up-close look at a felony investigation, Nadeau says. They lift fingerprints, question suspects and try out their acting skills.

“I’ve been doing this for eight years. I’m one of the nuts,” said Louie Dumond, who went through an academy years ago and now sticks around to help out new members. “This is my third acting job and I haven’t made it to Hollywood yet.”

After three hours in the basement bar Tuesday night, the faux investigators had zeroed on their suspect. Joe admitted to having sex with the victim but insisted it was consensual. His story agreed with the facts and there was no hard evidence suggesting the young lady had been raped.

“It was scary,” Wise said about playing a victim not everyone believes. “It was not a good place to be.”

Ultimately, the citizen cops did not have enough evidence to charge the suspect. Sgt. Chick told them not to be discouraged. In the real-life case that the mock scene was based on, Joe was taken to trial but acquitted.

“The jury just didn’t buy it,” Chick said.