A veteran Maine State Trooper and Nobleboro resident was arrested on Nov. 24 on two felony charges: tampering with a witness and unlawful sexual contact with a child.
District Attorney Geoff Rushlau confirmed the charges against 24-year-Trooper Gregory Vrooman, but could not comment further.
Officers from the Attorney General’s Office, assisted by State Police, arrested Vrooman at his home on Cramer Road in Nobleboro – “with no incident,” said State Police Spokesman Steve McCausland – and brought him to Two Bridges Regional Jail, where he was booked and released on $25,000 unsecured bail.
The Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the arrest, because Rushlau’s office will prosecute Vrooman.
Both charges are felonies carrying maximum sentences of five years in prison.
Vrooman has been placed on administrative leave, McCausland said, but did not know whether it is with or without pay.
Vrooman was arrested without a warrant, so there is no affidavit outlining the circumstances surrounding his arrest. Rushlau could not comment on why there was no arrest warrant, except to say there are a variety of circumstances in which an arrest may be made without a warrant.
Vrooman’s attorney, Michael Turndorff, did not comment on the case except to say that it is “still very early in the process, and [Vrooman] should get the benefit of the doubt.”
Turndorff also spoke on the lack of a warrant in Vrooman’s arrest, explaining that a warrant is not required for arrest in felony cases if officers have probable cause to arrest.
Warrants are required for arrest in misdemeanor cases that are not committed in the presence of an officer or when there is no reason to believe that another crime may be committed.
