The office of the Right Rev. Stephen T. Lane, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, has issued a statement regarding the arrest of the Very Rev. Stephen Foote of Bremen.
According to the statement, Bishop Lane was informed of Foote’s arrest on a charge of trafficking in prison contraband, the same day Foote was arrested, Nov. 1.
According to the statement, “Foote, of Bremen, retired as Dean of The Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Portland in 2003. He recently served as transition priest-in-charge at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Augusta, but has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
“The Bishop’s Office is providing pastoral care and support for the people of St. Mark’s.
“The Diocese of Maine will cooperate fully with the criminal investigation. The arrest automatically engages our Title IV proceedings, the disciplinary process for clergy that is canonically required by The Episcopal Church.
“The Bishop receives this news with sadness and deep concern, and requests that Maine Episcopalians keep all parties in their prayers as we move through these difficult days.”
Foote, 70, was arrested following an investigation into drug trafficking at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and Two Bridges Regional Jail.
According to a press release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Foote, Theriault Patten, 25, of Bremen, and Adam Shawley, 27, of Newport, were all arrested following the investigation.
Foote, has since been released on bail. He faces a Class C charge, punishable by up to five years in prison. Patten and Shawley face Class D charges of trafficking in prison contraband and are both already in custody.
