A Waldoboro man pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact Feb. 24 and a Class A felony charge of gross sexual assault on a then-13-year-old girl was dismissed, according to court documents.
Jason Merrifield, 27, was summoned for gross sexual assault in September by Knox County Sheriff’s Detective Justin Twitchell, after both Merrifield and the victim allegedly confirmed at least one sexual encounter had taken place between them last May.
For the unlawful sexual contact, Merrifield was sentenced to three years incarceration with all but 12 months suspended and two years probation.
He will serve the 12 months with the Department of Corrections concurrently with 13 months of a previously suspended sentence.
Had he been convicted of the gross sexual assault, Merrifield could have faced up to 30 years incarceration and a $50,000 fine.
As part of his probation, Merrifield cannot have contact with the victim or any females under the age of 16 except his daughter.
Merrifield’s court-appointed attorney, Jeremy Pratt, had no comment on the outcome of the case.
Merrifield has a criminal history dating at least to May 2009, when he burglarized Beth Farm’s Market in Warren.
He pleaded guilty to the burglary, a Class C felony, criminal mischief, Class D, and theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, Class E, on Feb. 3, 2010, according to court documents.
At the time Twitchell summoned him for the charge of gross sexual assault, he was being held at Knox County Correctional Facility after being arrested by the Rockland Police Department on unrelated charges of domestic violence assault and domestic violence criminal mischief.
