A Whitefield man pleaded guilty to assault and restraint today for binding his girlfriend’s hands and feet with duct tape and biting her last December.
Steven L. Peaslee Jr., 21, of Whitefield, pleaded guilty to criminal restraint, domestic violence assault and refusing to submit to arrest, all Class D misdemeanors, in Wiscasset District Court.
District Court Judge Daniel Billings sentenced Peaslee to 280 days in jail with all but 60 days suspended, plus two years of probation. Peaslee also has to pay $60 in fines, $20 for each charge.
Peaslee will receive credit for the 62 days he was in jail after his arrest. Thus, he will not serve any more jail time if he successfully completes his probation.
His probation conditions require him to complete a “batterer’s intervention” program and obtain treatment for mental health issues.
A report by Patrolman Perry Hatch, of the Wiscasset Police Department, describes the victim’s account of the assault.
Peaslee and his girlfriend of 18 months were living in a Wiscasset apartment when he confronted her about “Facebook messages he found,” Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013.
Peaslee pushed the woman to the bedroom floor. Shortly thereafter, he made her go into the kitchen, where “he held her against the dryer while using duct tape to bind her hands and feet,” Hatch said. He also bit the woman on the back and wrist.
Peaslee then carried the woman to the couch, where she was eventually able to take off her boots and free her feet, according to the report. She told police she had been restrained for at least an hour.
Hatch and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Jared Mitkus arrested Peaslee at 6:41 p.m. the same day.
Peaslee “spun around and began to wrestle” the officers, Hatch said. “He was taken to the floor and then cuffed.”
