A Massachusetts man was sentenced on Oct. 30 to three months in a county jail for an April 2012 courtroom assault on a former state trooper standing trial for unlawful sexual contact with a minor.
William Harrison, 41, of Charlestown, Mass., was convicted in September of assault, a Class D misdemeanor, for which he could have been sentenced up to 364 days in jail.
He was found not guilty of the original charge of aggravated assault, a Class B felony.
According to reports, Harrison jumped a barrier in the courtroom and punched former state trooper Gregory Vrooman, 47, of Nobleboro multiple times before being subdued and arrested by law enforcement. Harrison is a relative of the victim in the Vrooman case.
Vrooman suffered severe facial injuries as a result of the attack and was removed from the courthouse on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a local hospital, according to the June 28, 2012 story in The Lincoln County News.
The attack came moments before a Lincoln County jury was to deliver a verdict in Vrooman’s trial, and Justice Jeffrey Hjelm subsequently excused the jury.
The jury returned their verdict the following day, finding Vrooman guilty of four counts of unlawful sexual contact with a minor, four counts of unlawful sexual touching with a minor, and four counts of assault. He was acquitted of one count of tampering with a witness or victim.
Vrooman’s case was appealed over a denied motion to suppress evidence in the case, but the Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment this summer. He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence with all but 21 months suspended, which will be followed by four years probation.
Harrison was taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail on Oct. 30, and remained there as of Nov. 4.
Along with his jail term, Harrison will be required to pay $1750 to Vrooman and $250 to the Lincoln County treasurer as restitution, and $370 to the clerk of the Sagadahoc County Superior Court, where his trial was held, according to court documents.
