A Nobleboro sex offender allegedly attacked an adult female relative outside her Damariscotta home the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 27.
Scott L. Gifford, 52, of 11 School St., was allegedly wearing a ski mask and hiding behind bushes at the residence when he shoved the woman down and attempted to immobilize her with a stun gun, according to Damariscotta Police Chief Ron Young.
The woman was able to escape and call police from a store, Young said. She lost a front tooth in the struggle.
Despite the mask, she was able to identify the man as her relative by his eyes and physical appearance, Young said. She told police he has sexually assaulted her before and she believes he was attempting to do so again.
Damariscotta Police Officer Jason Warlick, with assistance from Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputies Aaron Beck, Ryan Chubbuck, Kevin Dennison, and K-9 Duke, searched the scene and found footprints leading away from the house.
The officers found a ski mask and pieces of a Taser on the ground, Young said.
The officers then located Gifford at his Nobleboro residence.
“He was covered in sweat,” Young said, reading from a narrative by Warlick. “His shoes were covered in mud.”
After a brief interview, Gifford allegedly confessed to the attack, including his use of the Taser, Young said, although he denied any intent to sexually assault the woman.
“He said he knew she would be home around 9:30, so it was premeditated,” Young said.
Gifford told the officers where he discarded the Taser and the clothes he had been wearing, and the officers recovered the evidence.
Warlick recorded the interview, Young said.
Gifford faces charges of class B aggravated assault, a felony; class D criminal threatening and stalking, both misdemeanors; and a probation hold. “There may be other charges pending,” Young said.
Gifford was being held without bail at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset Thursday morning, Aug. 28. He is due to appear in Lincoln County Superior Court for arraignment Friday, Aug. 29.
The Maine Sex Offender Registry lists Gifford as a lifetime registrant with convictions for gross sexual assault, gross sexual misconduct, sexual abuse of a minor, four counts; and unlawful sexual contact.
Gifford told police he served 17 years in prison for sexual assault charges. The police department could not immediately confirm the statement.
Gifford lives on School Street about a quarter-mile from Nobleboro Central School. His probation conditions prohibit contact with children.
Young praised the woman’s courage and toughness in fending off her attacker. “She fought back and Jason said that’s what saved her, is that she was able to fight back,” he said.
The arrest was a good example of cooperation between the Damariscotta Police Department and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Young said. K-9 Duke was able to help the officers recover the Taser and other evidence.
