AUBURN — A 34-year-old Minot man poised to go to trial for being with a 16-year-old girl without her parents’ permission agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge Wednesday.
Erik Mayle of 10 Butler Hill Road was charged nearly a year ago with criminal restraint, a Class D misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail.
In Androscoggin County Superior Court on Wednesday, Mayle was awaiting trial when his lawyer reached an agreement with the District Attorney’s Office.
Under the terms of that agreement, Mayle pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing government administration. Prosecutors dismissed the charge of criminal restraint.
If Mayle abides by the conditions of the agreement, he would return to court in a year and be allowed to withdraw his plea, and enter a guilty plea to a charge of disorderly conduct, a lesser offense. He would serve no time in jail.
Conditions for the agreement include no contact with either the then-16-year-old girl or her family. Mayle must not have contact with any female younger than 16, except supervised visits with a 2-year-old member of his family. He is also required to undergo substance abuse and mental health counseling, as well as a psychological evaluation. He will remain free on personal recognizance.
In an affidavit written by Lisbon police officer Bernard McAllister, Mayle reportedly planned to travel to West Virginia with the girl, who had apparently run away from home. Police found the girl at Mayle’s home after several days of searching for her at the request of her family who had filed a missing person report.
Mayle had previously been issued a two-year protection from abuse order barring him from having contact with the girl. That order expired a month before Mayle’s arrest.
Last March, Lisbon and Lewiston police searched the downtown area of Lisbon after they had received numerous tips that the girl was in that area.
At 2:30 a.m. March 20, 2013, a vehicle driven by Mayle passed a sergeant on patrol for the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department in Minot. That led to the discovery of the girl at Mayle’s home.
The county deputy took the girl to the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office where she was turned over to her parents.
cwilliams@sunjournal.com
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- Erik Mayle, 34, of 10 Butler Hill Road in Minot, right, appears Wednesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn where he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing government administration. Mayle was charged with criminal restraint in March 2013 when a 16-year-old girl ran away from home and was found at his home. Mayle was represented by local attorney Allan Lobozzo, center.
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