PORTLAND — Justin DiPietro, the father of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds, was released on $350 bail on Tuesday, according to a Cumberland County Jail clerk.
DiPietro was arrested on Friday for a charge of violating conditions of his release from an arrest earlier this summer.
Friday’s arrest was DiPietro’s second since July 6, when a Portland police lieutenant reportedly saw him grab and push a woman with whom he was arguing at 88 Spring St. The police announcement at the time described the victim as a 25-year-old ex-girlfriend of DiPietro. The woman was not injured in the alleged assault, according to police, and DiPietro was released on bail.
He was bailed at noon Tuesday, according to the jail, and has conditions that he is not to have use or possession of alcohol, illegal drugs or firearms. He is also to have no direct or indirect contact with the female from the July 6 incident. The Bangor Daily News is not naming the woman because she is the potential victim of a crime.
DiPietro’s arrest on Friday occurred on Broadway in South Portland, after DiPietro was pulled over because of an expired inspection sticker on the car he was driving, according to South Portland police Sgt. John Sutton.
When DiPietro’s license information was entered into the law enforcement database, police learned that he was out on bail. As such, he was subject to release conditions that included he not use or possess alcoholic beverages, and he submit to random searches and testing.
DiPietro was arrested after alcohol was found in the vehicle, Sutton said.
“He was not consuming it at the time,” he added.
The alleged July assault was not associated with the disappearance of Reynolds, who went missing in December 2011 at age 20 months from the Waterville home where DiPietro was living at the time. That case remains unsolved.
Last month, the mother of the missing child announced on her website that she will hold a press conference this month to release information in an effort to have DiPietro prosecuted in connection with the girl’s disappearance.
Trista Reynolds will release information given to her earlier this year by Maine State Police detectives on Sept. 24 on www.aylareynolds.com, according to information posted on the site. Reynolds also said that she will hold a press conference in Lincoln Park, located across from Cumberland County Superior Court, on Sept. 25.
The press conference will be held after the scheduled court appearance of DiPietro on the July assault charge unrelated to his daughter, according to information on the website.
DiPietro has not been charged in connection with the toddler’s disappearance, and around the one-year anniversary of the crime, police said that they had “renewed communications” with DiPietro and his family members after previously saying they did not believe DiPietro had been forthcoming about the night of Reynolds’ disappearance.
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