BELFAST — A Waldo man was sentenced to serve two years in prison in Waldo County Unified Court Jan. 29 for unlawful sexual contact with two minor victims. 

Gregory A. Thompson, 54, originally faced five counts in total, including unlawful sexual contact (two counts), gross sexual assault, and unlawful sexual touching (two counts). Both counts of unlawful sexual touching were dismissed in Dec. 2017 due to being outside of the statute of limitations. 

There is no statute of limitations for certain crimes, including murder or criminal homicide in the first or second degree, or “if the victim had not attained the age of 16 years at the time of the crime, a prosecution for: incest; unlawful sexual contact; sexual abuse of a minor; rape or gross sexual assault, formerly denominated as gross sexual misconduct, may be commenced at any time,” according to Maine Criminal Code.

For cases outside of those parameters, “prosecution for a Class A, Class B or Class C crime involving unlawful sexual contact or gross sexual assault must be commenced within 8 years after it is committed.”

The three remaining original counts brought against Thompson were dismissed as a part of the plea agreement.

Following the dismissal of the two counts of unlawful sexual touching, two additional counts of unlawful sexual contact were brought against Thompson Dec. 3. These additional charges are for incidents that allegedly took place in September 2004 and from 2006-2008, when the victims were under the age of 14. Thompson pleaded no contest to the charges.

Thompson was sentenced to five years in prison with all but two years suspended for one count of unlawful sexual contact and two years in prison for the other count. 

Both victims named in the case were under 12 years of age when the alleged abuse began in September 2004; the abuse is alleged to have continued through December 2010, according to a 2017 indictment.

The victims reported the incidents to authorities the same year, according to court documents.

In a victim impact statement, one of the victims wrote that she still has to sleep with a nightlight on to feel comfortable there is no one in her room. Both victims wrote that their ability to have relationships with others was damaged by the abuse.

Thompson, who began his sentence immediately following his Jan. 29 sentencing, will serve his two sentences concurrently.

Following his imprisonment, Thompson will serve four years of probation, with conditions including required counseling and treatment as a sexual offender. He will also be prohibited from being in contact with any female children under age 16 and must not contact either of his victims.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com