LEWISTON – A man who spent five years in prison for attempting to rape a woman on Pond Road is free again and moving to Bartlett Street.

Police are advising neighbors that Michael Roberts, 28, has been set free. In 2000, he was convicted of attempted gross sexual assault following an attack on a woman the year before.

Police, who have been notifying neighbors, said they would like to know if Roberts engages in suspicious activity. However, they warn residents about harassing or threatening him.

Prosecutors said Roberts began following a Pond Road woman as she was out for a walk the morning of Nov. 15, 1999. Roberts followed the victim for more than a mile before he grabbed her and attempted to drag her into the bushes at the side of the road.

A neighbor and a Sun Journal home delivery manager were credited with coming to the woman’s rescue and with keeping Roberts at the scene until police arrived.

Those witnesses described seeing Roberts lunge at the woman and then put her in a headlock before he was stopped.

The woman was described as being in her early 30s.

In June of 2000, it took a jury just 20 minutes to find Roberts guilty.