FARMINGTON — A New Sharon man was found guilty Friday of sexually abusing a young girl when she periodically visited his former home in Chesterville from the time she was 4 until age 9 or 10.
A jury of four women and eight men reached the verdict against Raymond Buck, 75, after a nearly two-day trial in Franklin County Superior Court and about an hour of deliberations.
The retired farmer was convicted of unlawful sexual contact and faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000. Sentencing is expected in about 60 days.
Assistant District Attorney James Andrews said it was a case of two versions of what happened and only one could be true.
Defense attorney Walter McKee of McKee Morgan in Augusta said it was a case of “rush to judgment” and a “summons for Raymond.”
He said his client, who grew up in the Livermore area, was a member of the U.S. Navy who served in security, including at an embassy in London, and after leaving the service attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, graduating in three years.
The victim, now 21, said she told her mother what had happened a year or so after their last visit to the farm in 2011 or 2012, and her mother called Buck’s wife and told her what her daughter said and Raymond Buck denied it.
The young woman contacted local police where she lived and they gave her the number of Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, which she called in February 2022, according to testimony.
At this week’s trial, Detective David Davol said he returned her call in February 2022 and she provided him with a written statement. He and Detective Lt. David St. Laurent went to the Buck’s residence a few days later in New Sharon, where Buck told them he was never alone with the girl and her allegations were false, Davol testified.
Breaking into tears several times during testimony Thursday, the young woman said Buck touched her vagina over and under her pants and he had her touch his penis over and under his pants while he was alone with her at his Chesterville farm.
The young woman said she spent a lot of time alone with Buck — in his office sitting on his lap when she was 5 and whenever she was there, maybe up to five visits through the years. He also gave her rides on a tractor and an ATV.
“He made me feel special,” more special than her brothers, she said. She said she didn’t realize until she was older that she was getting her first sexual experience.
“I was happy. I didn’t know any better,” she said. “He took advantage of the time he was alone with me. He did things I shouldn’t have gone through at my age. He made me grow up too fast.”
She said she remembered Buck telling her “bad things would happen if I told anybody.”
The young woman said she had nightmares, attempted to take her life, had counseling and suffers from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In a victim impact statement, she told Buck “you made me feel dirty and worthless. I was too young.”
She told him he groomed her and built a relationship.
The young woman’s mother said her daughter told her about 12 to 18 months after their last visit in 2011 or 2012 that she had been sexually assaulted. The mother testified that she and her husband asked their sons if anything unusual happened during visits to the farm and were told it didn’t.
The mother said she was scared, she didn’t know who to report the abuse to and she did not want her family to know about the allegations.
At times crying during her testimony, she said as far as she could tell, when they visited the farm, her children and Buck got along great as long as they followed the rules of the farm. She didn’t see anything wrong. The children would get rides around the farm on the tractor with Buck and on an ATV, she said.
McKee said Buck told deputies when they arrived at his home in New Sharon in February 2022 that the abuse “absolutely” did not happen.
“I was never alone with (the girl)” and “I didn’t do it,” Buck testified Thursday.
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