Owls Head child abuser to serve 33 months in prison
ROCKLAND — A man from Owls Head, who was recorded on a videotape repeatedly assaulting a 12-year-old-boy, has been sentenced to serve 33 months in prison.
Douglas Merrifield, 34, was sentenced Dec. 28 by Justice William Stokes in Knox County Unified Court to seven years in prison, with all but 33 months suspended and four years of probation, for aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
According to the police affidavit filed in court by Knox County Sheriff’s Office Detective Dwight Burtis, a woman contacted him May 24, 2016, regarding an ongoing domestic case she was involved in. She told Burtis that she was concerned about disclosing any information to police since the man she was sharing details about formerly worked at the Knox County Jail. At that time, she did not provide any further information to Burtis and he was unable to reach her again after their initial meeting, according to the court document.
The detective was able to connect with the woman in late June 2016 and they met again July 5. She provided the detective with a video on a computer memory stick that showed the assault of a 12-year-old boy that lasted for 62 minutes.
According to the court document, the first nine minutes of the video shows Merrifield repeatedly assaulting the boy. One part of the video contains an image of Merrifield using a choke hold, causing the boy to convulse, and then using his knee to strike the victim in the groin and stomach area.
The final 50 minutes of the video shows Merrifield making the boy stand with his head against the wall.
Merrifield admitted to police that he assaulted the victim and put his hands around the boy’s throat and squeezed, but denied that he could not breathe, according to the police report.
He was arrested July 6 by Burtis and Detective Lt. Reginald Walker and transported to the Knox County Jail.
Merrifield’s bail was initially set at $35,000 cash, but it was changed to $35,000 unsecured and he was later released from jail pending his court appearance.
Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com
