Suspended attorney Seth Carey of Rumford attends a hearing in 2022 in Augusta. Steve Collins/Sun Journal file photo
One-time district attorney candidate Seth Carey of Rumford wants to review information given to the grand jury that led to felony charges against him — now dismissed — that he claims were part of a “politically-motivated prosecution.”
On Monday, he filed a motion in Oxford County seeking witness testimony and prosecution “representations” made before the grand jury.
Whether he will get them is uncertain. The law leans heavily toward protecting the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. But if Carey can convince a judge that they are crucial to his ability to prove his case, and that his legal arguments are solid, he might stand a chance of seeing them.
Last week, Carey, who has a suspended law license, filed suit in Oxford County accusing the Maine State Police of bringing “completely false criminal charges” against him following an investigation into allegations in 2018 of sexual assault.
Police and prosecutors have denied they targeted Carey unfairly.
The unsuccessful 2018 Republican candidate for district attorney in Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties was charged in 2021 with attempted gross sexual assault and attempted aggravated sex trafficking, both felonies, as well as three misdemeanors: unlawful sexual contact, domestic assault and engaging in prostitution.
In return for dropping the charges, Carey, 48, pleaded guilty in May to a misdemeanor assault charge for which he had to pay a $300 fine.
Carey said in his filing last week that he pleaded guilty to the single charge because it was “the only way out of having to wait more months or years to easily win at jury trial, to get his law license back and to finally be employable without felonies putting him on do-not-hire lists.”
He asked a judge to “reopen the case and move for sanctions” against police and prosecutors involved in it.
In his motion Monday, he is asking the court to let him “examine the testimony of each witness who testified before the grand jury in this matter, as well as the representations by the prosecution, as well as any interaction with jury members.”
Carey said he would also like any recording or minutes of the relevant grand jury proceedings, if they exist.
“It is quite clear,” Carey wrote, that police and prosecutors “defrauded this court and the justice system in bringing these fraudulent criminal charges” against him.
As a result, he said, he has a right “to unwind the maneuvers” that led to the charges being filed in what he called “this hoax perpetrated upon this court.”
Maine State Police Col. William Ross said in July that “detectives in this case worked diligently interviewing both parties while continuing to gather evidence, which included digital media” as they reviewed allegations made against Carey.
“As the investigation neared completion,” Ross wrote, “the case was brought by the district attorney for review by the grand jury for review of felony charges based on the investigative evidence.”
“When those charges were brought by a duly impaneled grand jury, the Maine State Police obtained a warrant for arrest in order to secure Carey and bring him back to Maine since he was living in Florida in the spring of 2021. The case has been with the courts since that time,” he said, adding that Carey “pleaded guilty to assault in exchange for dismissal of the other felony counts.”
The court has not yet considered Carey’s requests.
Carey, who has been unable to practice law since 2018, won a Republican primary to become the party’s candidate for district attorney that year. He lost to a Democratic incumbent but garnered 42% of the vote despite his own legal woes.
Last year, he sought to force another GOP primary but was barred from a spot on the ballot because he did not have the right to practice law in Maine.
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