A Lincoln County Superior Court grand jury has indicted William M. Harrison, 40, Charleston, Mass. on a charge of Class B aggravated assault.
Harrison allegedly attacked former Maine State Trooper Gregory Vrooman, April 12, in the Lincoln County Superior Courtroom as a verdict was about to be delivered in Vrooman’s case.
Vrooman, 46, of Nobleboro, was later found guilty of four counts of felony unlawful sexual contact with a minor, four counts of misdemeanor unlawful sexual touching with a minor, and four counts of misdemeanor assault. He was acquitted of one count of tampering with a witness and was sentenced, June 25, to five years in prison with all but 21 months of his sentence suspended.
He must also serve probation for four years, following incarceration.
Vrooman’s trial concluded around 3 p.m. April 11. After several hours of deliberation, the jury adjourned for the evening. When they reconvened the following morning, they announced they had reached a verdict around 10:30 a.m.
Before the judge or jury had entered the courtroom, as participants and audience members were gathering for the proceeding, Vrooman was seated at the defendant’s table waiting to hear the verdict. According to witnesses, Harrison jumped a barrier and attacked Vrooman, allegedly punching him multiple times in the face before he was subdued by law enforcement present in the courtroom at the time.
Harrison was immediately arrested and charged with Class B aggravated assault. He was released from Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset on $5000 cash bail later that day.
A witness to the assault said Vrooman appeared to suffer severe facial injuries. He was removed from the courthouse on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a local hospital. He was conscious but bleeding when he was loaded into the ambulance. Vrooman spent a night in the hospital and received treatment for his injuries.
