LEWISTON — An Auburn man was held with without bail Monday after waiving his right to challenge probable cause for his arrest on gross sexual assault and other charges.
Razel M. Gavin Androscoggin County Jail photo
Razel M. Gavin, 24, was arrested last week and charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.
He is facing a total of five felony charges in connection with the incident.
Gavin appeared in 8th District Court via videoconference from Androscoggin County Jail for the bail hearing.
Judge Susan Driscoll said that Gavin’s probable cause waiver extinguished his right to bail in a case that had at one time been an offense punishable by death in Maine.
Under state law, Driscoll could exercise her discretion to allow bail unless prosecutors can show substantial risk of the defendant not appearing in court, committing other crimes and posing a danger to someone or to the community.
Charges against Gavin include kidnapping and two counts of gross sexual assault, each punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Gavin also was charged with aggravated assault, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Driscoll also on Monday granted Assistant District Attorney Katherine Bozeman’s motion to impound court documents containing details of Gavin’s alleged crimes because they involve a minor victim.
Police said Gavin kidnapped the girl near her home Monday evening before assaulting her multiple times over four hours. Gavin was arrested about 2:30 a.m. April 26 when police spotted him driving a Volvo station wagon on Minot Avenue.
On the night of April 25, police had been called to a home for a report of a missing teenager. That girl’s parents had been called by a concerned friend, police said.
The missing girl was last seen by her parents in a parking lot across the street from their home.
Surveillance video from a local business showed a dark-colored Volvo station wagon with a male operator entering the parking lot and leaving a short time later, police said.
Assisted by other law enforcement agencies, Auburn police located a car matching that description on Minot Avenue. The driver was pulled over and a girl identified as the missing teen was inside with visible signs of assault, according to police.
Gavin also had a loaded firearm in the car, police said.
The girl told investigators she had been threatened by Gavin with a firearm, assaulted and forced into his car, police said.
Police said the girl didn’t know Gavin.
The girl was taken to a local hospital for treatment and reunited with her family.
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