LEWISTON – Mayor Lionel C. Guay has been charged with sexually touching a high school senior on three separate occasions earlier this year.
The state Attorney General’s Office filed seven misdemeanor charges against the 64-year-old mayor Tuesday. The charges are three counts of unlawful sexual touching and four counts of assault.
Court documents allege that Guay touched the girl’s breasts on Feb. 11, touched her buttocks “on numerous occasions” on March 15, and touched her breasts and kissed her on the mouth on Sept. 26. Each charge alleges that the action was taken “for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.”
Each count also alleges that the girl had not acquiesced to the contact.
Guay denied the accusations and said he would plead innocent to the charges.
“No, no, I didn’t,” he replied when asked if he had touched the teen’s breasts or her buttocks, or had kissed her.
Cooperating
Guay said he has been cooperating with investigators. He spoke with state police detectives on Oct. 19 and again on Oct. 28 about the case. The fact that they filed charges Tuesday came as a surprise.
He was getting together some records, which had been requested by the police, to take to his lawyer when he learned the charges had been filed.
“I really don’t know,” he said when asked why the girl was making the accusations.
Guay is married with four children and five grandchildren.
“I can deal with this,” he said, “but it’s affecting my family.”
The mother of the alleged victim said by telephone that the family would have no comment on the case. She declined to provide her daughter’s age.
Guay is running for re-election to a second two-year term in next Tuesday’s municipal election. He’s challenged by Charles Soule, a perennial candidate, in a two-way contest.
The charges have nothing to do with the city or his position as mayor, Guay said.
City Administrator James Bennett issued a statement Wednesday afternoon noting that the alleged incidents didn’t happen on city property or involve municipal employees.
When the complaint came in to the Lewiston Police Department, officers handed over the investigation to the Attorney General’s Office, Bennett said.
“This is a clear indication of this city’s determination to ensure that the investigation and future prosecution of this matter is treated with the impartiality and seriousness it deserves,” Bennett said.
The mayor and his brother, Auburn Mayor Normand Guay, received a major state Chamber of Commerce award Wednesday night recognizing the Twin Cities’ economic gains.
Lawyer’s response
Guay is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on the charges at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, at Lewiston District Court.
His lawyer, Jennifer Ferguson, said she would vigorously defend the case. She also said the initial appearance will be waived, and that Guay will file his pleas at a later time.
Guay was about to present state investigators with documents that showed past “dishonesty” on the part of his accuser, Ferguson said.
But, she said the Attorney General’s Office instead rushed to get the charges filed now rather than conducting a more thorough investigation.
“They didn’t want to be accused of sweeping it under the rug” because of next week’s election, she said.
Ferguson said state investigators spoke to another witness Tuesday before filing the charges and were told there was no harassment.
If convicted, Guay would face up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000 on each count.
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