BAIL SET AT $25,000

Sun, 11/02/2025 - 8:19pm

Sarah Shepherd

ROCKLAND – Rockland Police arrested a 27-year-old registered sex offender in Maine on Oct. 31 for the sexual abuse of a minor.

Matthew “Nate” Boegel, of Bowdoin, was charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor following an investigation that began on Oct. 29. Police said they were notified by a concerned citizen who knew that the suspect was a registered sex offender when she observed him having contact with the minor.

Boegel is formerly from Rockland.

The investigation continued after the alert from the citizen with the Rockland Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division. Evidence of a sexual assault on a minor was confirmed by detectives.

Boegel has two prior convictions for sex assaults and offenses against juveniles in 2017 and 2018.

Boegel made his initial appearance on the new charges on Oct. 31 in Knox County Court. Justice John Martin set bail at $25,000 cash, with no third party bail allowed.

If Boegel posts bail and is released from jail, he will be on house arrest with the exceptions of medical and legal appointments and employment. He will also be prohibited from any from contact with girls younger than 18 years old and must stay away from playgrounds, recreation fields, daycares, skateboard parks, and recreation centers, according to the court document.

Rockland Police said that Boegel was arrested in Camden while he was with the minor by the Camden Police Department. He was arrested on an unrelated warrant.

Knox County Sheriff’s Office also assisted with the investigation.

Rockland Police thanked the citizen “who had the wherewithal to know what they were seeing was wrong and took the effort to report it,” in a department press release posted on Facebook.

Boegel is scheduled to be back in Knox County Court on Jan. 15, 2026 for a dispositional conference.