TROY — A Troy man accused of gross sexual assault is currently on house arrest following his Feb. 1 arrest. 

Richard A. Henry Jr., 57, went before Justice Robert Murray Feb. 3, where he was ultimately released to house arrest on secured bail of $1,000 cash and a $20,000 bail lien against his residence. 

Henry first came to police attention after a woman contacted law enforcement when she received a call from an acquaintance saying they had been sexually assaulted by Richard Henry, according to court documents filed by Waldo County Sheriff’s Deputy James Porter. 

Deputies from the WSO met with the victim the same day, who stated that Henry had gone over to her house and told her that she could receive federal money if she were to help him in his home, specifically helping him bathe. The victim was reportedly uncomfortable with the idea of going to Henry’s home to help him and instead offered to help him bathe at her own home. 

It was while the woman was washing him that Henry allegedly demanded she perform fellatio. When rebuffed, Henry allegedly struck the woman on the side of her head, hard enough that she was disoriented for a few minutes. After being struck the woman reportedly cooperated with Henry to avoid being further hurt. 

After being questioned about whether any previous sexual contact with Henry had occurred, the victim reportedly said she had been forced to commit the same act one previous time. According to the victim, Henry was delivering her food from a local pantry and threatened to stop doing so if she did not oblige his demand. 

Members of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office traveled to Henry’s residence to question him about the incident, where he reportedly denied striking the woman but admitted to the sexual contact. He was arrested for domestic assault, which was ultimately changed to gross sexual assault after state statutes were reviewed. 

As part of Henry’s Maine pretrial supervision contract, he is also banned from having any contact with his victim, or from leaving his Troy home for anything other than medical and court appointments. 

Henry is next scheduled to appear in court on March 24.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com