FARMINGTON — A Franklin County judge lowered bail Thursday for a Wilton man accused of sexually molesting a child under age 12.
It was the fourth attempt for Jamie C. Ouellette, 37, to get his bail lowered. It was initially set at $75,000 cash. On Thursday, it was dropped from $25,000 to $15,000 cash or $50,000 worth of real estate.
Ouellette faces charges of felony unlawful sexual contact and visual sexual aggression of a child, and a misdemeanor charge of illegal possession of a firearm.
He and two co-defendants, his wife, Tami Ouellette, 42, of Wilton and his girlfriend, Anna LaRochelle, 25, also of Wilton, are accused of sexually molesting the child over several months and forcing her to watch the three adults have sex, according to police affidavits filed with the court in February.
Tami Ouellette is out of jail on $3,000 cash bail and LaRochelle out on $1,400 cash bail. Both are on supervised pretrial agreements.
LaRochelle faces the same sex charges as Jamie Ouellette, his attorney, Sherry Tash said.
Tami Ouellette faces a felony charge of unlawful sexual contact and a charge of visual sexual aggression of a child.
All three are prohibited from having contact with children under age 16 with the exceptions of LaRochelle having contact with her son as permitted by the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Tami Ouellette is having supervised contact with her child from another relationship.
Jami Ouellette has been in jail since his arrest nine months ago, his attorney, Sherry Tash, told Justice William Stokes in Franklin County Superior Court.
Tash requested that Ouellette’s bail be lowered to $1,000 cash so he could start reunification services to see his 1-year-old son, who is in the custody of DHHS. The services required to start the process are not available in jail. The plan was signed Oct. 22 and is good for six months, she said.
He is not a flight risk, Tash said. He has lived in the area and has strong family ties in the community, including his parents.
He does not qualify for a pretrial contract because of a 2001 manslaughter conviction, she said. Ouellette was the driver of a vehicle that crashed in Norridgewock in 2000, killing his 23-year-old female passenger from New Hampshire. He received a 10-year sentence with all but one year suspended.
He had two probation violations in 2004 and a theft conviction in 2005 when he had a pill addiction, Tash said.
Ouellette has a huge motivation not to go anywhere because of his son, Tash said. If he is released, he would live with friends Timothy and Barbara Whitcomb at 391 Fredericks Corner Road in Norridgewock, she said.
She presented letters from several people, including friends and family, who supported his good character and nonviolent behavior, she said.
Assistant District Attorney Claire Andrews said the state objects to reducing bail because of the seriousness of the charges. The children are terrified of him getting out of jail and coming to them, she said.
“We are certainly concerned about the protection of the community,” she said.
Sex offenders groom their victims and come across as being very nice, she said. She referred to Ouellette as the “primary actor” in the case.
“We have photographs (from devices seized from the home) that show the defendant and victim in various positions,” Andrews said.
Tash said the court will find the child is lying.
Stokes weighed the aggravating and mitigating factors in the case before lowering bail. If Ouellette is released, he will have a curfew at the Whitcombs’ home from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. He has to meet once a week with an official at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department in Farmington.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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