By Lisa Chmelecki,Staff Writer

AUBURN – A man accused of raping two young girls and holding them hostage in his home will appear in federal and state courts Wednesday.

George Yeaton III, 39, of Leeds, will begin the day in U.S. District Court in Portland, where he will be sentenced for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

After that, he will be taken to Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn for a trial on an additional 22 charges, including rape, kidnapping and terrorizing, in connection with an incident last October.

A jury has already been chosen to hear the case.

Yeaton was arrested Oct. 28 after a police standoff at his home on Route 106 in Leeds. Police say he had two young girls – one younger than 18 and another younger than 12 – in the home with him.

The 22 charges stem from allegations that he raped both girls during the four days before the standoff. He refused to let them go while threatening to hurt them and kill them, police said.

At the time of his arrest, Yeaton was out on bail for previous charges of terrorizing and operating under the influence.

His criminal record also includes prior convictions for terrorizing, robbery and burglary. Because he is a felon, he is barred from possessing firearms.

The federal charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, is the result of police finding a shotgun while searching his house. Yeaton pleaded guilty to the charge last December.

“He pleaded guilty because essentially, there wasn’t much of a way to defend it,” said Yeaton’s lawyer, Thomas Goodwin. “He had a shotgun.”

Yeaton has taken a different approach with the state charges. He pleaded innocent to all 22 of them last November and was returned to jail on $125,000 cash bail to await his trial.

The case came to the attention of police around noon on Oct. 28 when the mother of one of the young girls called for help. In addition to the charges involving the girls, Yeaton is accused of restraining and assaulting that woman with a knife the day before the standoff.

He also is accused of telling one of the girls that he would shoot her mother.

In total, Yeaton faces seven counts of gross sexual assault, four counts of terrorizing, two counts of criminal restraint, one count of kidnapping, one count of aggravated assault and numerous counts of violating conditions of release and protection orders.