The former leader of a Brunswick-based youth theater group who faces sexual abuse allegations in Sagadanoc County has been indicted on two counts of child sexual abuse in Cumberland County.
Henry Eichman, 56, already faces 16 counts of alleged child sexual abuse in Sagadahoc County, where he lives. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
The new charges are for unlawful sexual contact and unlawful sexual touching of a child under 12. According to Cumberland County court files, the incident took place in September in Brunswick.
Much of the file in the Cumberland County case has been impounded by the court and the remaining documents don’t specify exactly where in Brunswick the alleged acts took place, but the Midcoast Youth Theater, which Eichman ran until he was arrested last September, is located in Brunswick.
Portland attorney Robert Ruffner, who was recently appointed to represent Eichman, said he was aware of the charges and had been in discussions with the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office regarding the arraignment, which is scheduled for Tuesday. Ruffner declined to comment on the new allegations because he had not seen the detailed documents yet.
Eichman’s bail conditions are expected to remain unchanged, Ruffner said. He is currently free after posting $5,000 cash in Sagadahoc County.
The theater group was founded in 2003 by a group that included Eichman.
Hundreds of adults and children work on the theater, which produces multiple shows a year. At the time of Eichman’s arrest, Julie Meyer, chairwoman of the Midcoast Youth Theater board, said theater leaders were “deeply pained” by the allegations and a parents’ group met behind closed doors to discuss the charges.
The theater has continued to operate and recently released the schedule of shows it will produce this summer with elementary, middle and high school students.
In the Sagadahoc County case, Eichman is alleged to have secretly filmed children going to the bathroom in a bucket set up outside his apartment. Eichman told the children he had invited to pool parties that he didn’t want them tracking water into his apartment, so they were told to use the bucket instead. One of the children reported seeing what looked like a video camera with a blinking red light that she believed was recording her.
The other allegations related to sleepovers he held at the apartment for children in the theater group. One child reported seeing two other children sleeping in Eichman’s bed with him, and he was “moving up and down” on top of one of them, an affidavit filed with the court said.
Eichman also told the children who attended his sleepovers that they were not allowed to wear underwear. One girl told authorities she woke up at one point and Eichman, who was on a couch while the children slept on the floor, was taking photos of the other children as they slept.
There were no details on the case alleged in Brunswick other than to say it took place last Sept. 8 and the child involved was 11.
The first reports of the alleged abuse in Sagadahoc County were made to police in mid-August and Eichman was arrested in Topsham on Sept. 9.
Staff Writer Matt Byrne contributed to this report.
Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:
emurphy@pressherald.com
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