LEWISTON — A Greene man accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old autistic girl Dec. 18 picked her up at an Auburn department store after she had run away from home, authorities said.
The girl told a Sabattus police officer that she was standing in the parking lot of Wal-Mart when a man in a dark blue Chevrolet pickup truck asked her if she needed a ride. She told him she needed to go to Motel 6, but the man drove her to his duplex apartment instead, according to an affidavit written by an Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department detective and made available Tuesday.
The girl described the building where Travis Therrien, 35, of 411 College St., took her and “forced her to have sex against her will,” the affidavit said. She accurately described furnishings, including a fish tank and a framed photograph on the wall of Therrien with a woman he called his “dead wife,” according to the affidavit.
The girl described for police clothes Therrien forced her to wear; those clothes were later found by officers after executing a search warrant.
She accurately told officers where Therrien’s tattoos were on his body and what they depicted.
In the affidavit, the detective wrote that the girl said she wasn’t able to leave the apartment the night of Dec. 18 because she didn’t have any clothes to wear. Therrien had locked up her clothes in a laundry room, which she described for officers who interviewed her. She was found by police at 6 a.m. the next morning at an Auburn diner.
After meeting with officers, she directed her mother to retrace her route to the Greene apartment where Therrien answered the door but refused to allow her to enter.
During a search of his apartment, Therrien told deputies that he “knew this was coming.” When the deputies returned, Therrien told a sergeant to “make sure you bring everyone next time; you’re gonna need it,” the affidavit said.
Therrien was arrested on a warrant early Saturday morning. He appeared in 8th District Court on Tuesday where the charge of sexual abuse of a minor was reviewed, along with bail, which is set at $5,000 cash or $10,000 in real estate.
The charge is a felony, so Therrien didn’t enter a plea. His case is expected to be presented to an Androscoggin County grand jury, which must bring an indictment if a felony charge is to be prosecuted.
A judge imposed conditions should Therrien be released from Androscoggin County Jail on bail, including a supervisory contract, no contact with the named victim, no contact with anyone under the age of 18. He also is barred from leaving the state of Maine.
If Therrien were to be convicted of sexual abuse of a minor, a Class C felony, he could be punished by a maximum of five years in prison.
Therrien is a felon with a lengthy criminal record that includes burglary, theft, operating under the influence and criminal mischief, according to the affidavit.
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