A 47-year-old transient was arrested by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in connection with an alleged sexual assault in Whitefield Sept. 29.
According to an LCSO statement, Bradley Howe, was arrested in Augusta Sept. 30 after a social worker alleged Howe assaulted her in the parking lot behind the St. Denis Church on Rt. 126.
The alleged victim told police the assault occurred as she was giving Howe a ride from Augusta to his mother’s home in Jefferson Sept. 29. According to police, the alleged victim had reportedly given Howe a ride before with no problems.
During this ride, Howe asked the woman if she would pull behind the church so he could retrieve belongings he had hidden nearby in the woods. This request was also not unusual as Howe often had items hidden in various places due to his being homeless, LCSO said.
According to police, on this occasion, once the woman had pulled behind the church, Howe pulled out a knife, forced her out of the car and began to sexually assault her. After a few minutes, the assault was interrupted when a car was heard pulling into the parking lot on the other side of the church. When a car door was heard shutting, this distracted Howe long enough for the woman to break free and run around to the front of the church.
Howe then fled the area in the woman’s car. Assisted by a person at the church, the woman called for help, police said.
LCSO deputies immediately started a search of the area and notified neighboring law enforcement agencies with the description of Howe and the vehicle. The search continued through the night and into the next morning, when a Maine State Police Aviation Unit assisted with an air search of the area for the stolen vehicle.
Howe was arrested later Wednesday morning after he attempted to return the car to the woman’s office in Augusta. Learning that Howe intended to return the vehicle, LCSO detectives and Augusta Police set up surveillance on the parking lot of the office.
A short while later, Howe notified the woman’s office that he had left the car at the Rite-Aid Pharmacy parking lot on Bangor Street in Augusta. LCSO Detectives and Augusta Police patrol units immediately converged on the area. The vehicle was located where Howe said it would be and Howe was arrested a short distance away by the Augusta Police.
Howe was initially taken to the Augusta Police Dept. for questioning by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Detectives. He was later transported to the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset where he is being held on $100,000 cash bail pending a future court date.
Howe has been charged with Gross Sexual Assault, a Class A crime. Further charges are anticipated, police say.
