CONWAY, N.H. (AP) – The former pastor of a Maine church has been charged with failing to report suspicions that a former Conway police sergeant molested a teenage girl.
Donald Maranville, 50, former pastor of Fryeburg First Assembly of God Church, was charged under a state law that says anyone with reason to suspect a child has been abused or neglected must report it.
Failing to report suspected abuse is a misdemeanor. The list of people required to report includes doctors, psychologists, teachers, school counselors, day care workers, priests, ministers and rabbis.
When contacted this week, Maranville declined to comment.
He is charged with one count of “having reason to suspect a child had been abused and knowingly failing to report said abuse” between October 1998 and February 2004. He faces up to 12 months in prison and fines of up to $2,000 if convicted. He has been released on $500 personal recognizance bail until his trial, which is set for late fall.
Former Sgt. William McClellan, 51, is charged with molesting a 16-year-old girl who was living at his home while he was her guardian. He also is accused of using his position to coerce her into having sex. His trial is set for next month.
According to a police affidavit, the girl met McClellan and his wife through the church and eventually moved in with them around April 1998. Maranville was pastor of the church at the time.
According to a police affidavit, Maranville told investigators “it somehow came up in the church community” that McClellan might have molested the girl.
“Mr. Maranville said he spoke with Mr. McClellan about the allegations and that Mr. McClellan denied it,” the report says.
The affidavit goes on to say that McClellan told the pastor he hugged the girl and “if he had let her think something, it was stupid of him.” The pastor also told investigators that McClellan had said he made decisions that “may have been wrong.”
“Mr. McClellan told him, It was stupid of me to sit with her in a car where people could see me,”‘ the affidavit says. “Mr. Maranville said that Mr. McClellan had said, I should never have allowed this to happen,’ and Mr. McClellan admitted to having spent time alone at his house with (the girl).”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.