BELFAST — A Searsmont man was arrested May 14 for multiple charges of sex crimes involving children, including the alleged rape of a then-10-year-old, among other assaults. 

Blair E. Demerchant II, was charged with two counts of gross sexual assault and two counts of unlawful sexual contact with two victims in Monroe in 2014.

Guardians for the victims reported the alleged crimes to Sergeant Nick Oettinger, of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office, May 9. The guardians told Sergeant Nick Oettinger that roughly three months prior that their child and another related juvenile had reported that they had been touched inappropriately by Demerchant, an adult known to both. The abuse allegedly occurred in 2014, when the juveniles were in elementary school, according to an incident report dated May 14. 

When told about the abuse, the guardians reportedly confronted Demerchant, and after allegedly admitting the abuse, he agreed to get help, though they believed he had only been to therapy once. 

A forensic interview was set up with one of the victims with a professional trained in the National Children’s Advocacy Center Forensic Interview Model, which is conduct in a “supportive and non-leading manner,” according to the NCAC. 

“A forensic interview is a single session, recorded interview designed to elicit a child’s unique information when there are concerns of possible abuse or when the child has witnessed violence against another person…. Interviews are remotely observed by representatives of the agencies involved in the investigation (such as law enforcement and child protective services).”

A summary of the NCAC interview with one of the alleged victims is included in the incident report. 

The second juvenile reportedly provided a written statement that corroborated the interviewed victim’s recollections. 

Demerchant was interviewed at the WCSO, where he reportedly stated that he was not going to contest anything his victims said. According to the report, Demerchant stated that he “was an entirely different person when he consumed alcohol.” During the interview, he reportedly admitted raping one of the victims, and four or five occasions when abuse occurred with at least one of the victims. 

Demerchant, who reportedly stopped drinking and taking drugs because he didn’t like the person it made him, stated, “whatever the [victims] had said was accurate as they would have the best knowledge.” 

At the conclusion of the interview, Demerchant was arrested and charged with three counts of gross sexual assault and one count of unlawful sexual conduct. 

On May 17, Demerchant was released on $10,000 secured cash bail, with conditions including not having contact with his victims or their direct family members. He is also prohibited from any contact with anyone under age 18, from using or possessing any illegal drugs, and subject to drug testing at any time. As part of his conditions of release, Demerchant will be supervised by Maine Pretrial Services. 

He is next scheduled to appear in Waldo County Unified Criminal Court June 29, at 2 p.m.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com