An Arrowsic man facing six counts of gross sexual assault and 15 counts of unlawful sexual contact with two young Boothbay boys pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Lincoln County Superior Court on Feb. 16.
Michael Cassell, 61, was first arrested on Nov. 16 and charged with unlawful sexual contact with a minor. He was then arrested a second time on Dec. 8 and gross sexual charges were brought against him.
Although the date has not been set, Cassell will likely be scheduled to stand for trial sometime in May, according to court documents.
The allegations against Cassell are that a series of incidents took place from February 2009 to October 2010 involving Cassell and two brothers – one 12 and one 9 – in Boothbay, according to court records.
Cassell knew the boys’ family through a mutual friend who was dating the children’s mother, and over the last three years, Cassell has often worked on the family’s home, sometimes spending the night “on the bottom bunk in the boys room or on the couch,” Cassell told LCSO Det. Sgt. Ken Hatch, according to a written statement made by Hatch and filed with the court following Cassell’s second arrest.
