A Bristol man with a history of sex crimes faces new charges after he allegedly assaulted a woman at a Damariscotta laundromat Wednesday, Feb. 4.
Lawrence B. Sidelinger, 53, faces charges of assault, criminal threatening, and unlawful sexual touching, all class D misdemeanors punishable by up to 364 days in jail.
Sidelinger is a lifetime registrant on the Maine Sex Offender Registry. He has convictions for gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact, according to the registry.
A woman told police Sidelinger followed her into the Tri-bay Laundramat at about 1 p.m. “and after a brief conversation … grabbed her and stuffed his hands down her pants” and touched her genitals, Damariscotta Police Department Sgt. Jason Warlick said.
The woman told police “she pushed him away and told him ‘no,’ but he kept doing it,” Warlick said. After she pushed him away a third time, he swore and left the laundromat.
A friend of the woman reported the incident to police the next morning.
Damariscotta Police Officer Erick Halpin investigated the incident. Halpin and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Ken Hatch arrested Sidelinger without incident at his Bristol residence Thursday, Feb. 5.
Sidelinger was transported to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset. He has since posted $5,000 bail.
Sidelinger and the alleged victim “were acquaintances at best,” Warlick said. “We don’t know what his mindset was behind it.” Sidelinger declined to talk to police at the time of his arrest.
The 521 Main St. laundromat and the “entire grounds” are under audio and video surveillance, Warlick said. The laundromat’s owners are cooperating with the investigation.
