AUGUSTA — A city man who assaulted a 14-year-old girl sexually was sentenced Tuesday to three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty.
Shawn R. Haggan, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of gross sexual assault and one count of unlawful sexual contact, for two incidents involving the same girl, with whom, court records indicate, he had a supervisory-type relationship.
The gross sexual assault occurred Nov. 11, 2018, in Augusta, when Haggan asked her to try on a dress and then removed the girl’s underwear and engaged in a sexual act with her, according to Frayla Tarpinian, assistant district attorney. The other charge stems from an incident on Dec. 1, 2017, in which he assaulted her after asking if she wanted to play a game.
State prosecutors dropped a third charge of unlawful sexual touching, which they had alleged also took place on Dec. 1, 2017, as part of the plea agreement that resulted in Haggan’s two guilty pleas Tuesday in court.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison, with all but three and a half of those years suspended, meaning he will not have to serve the other four and a half years if he complies with the terms of his probation. He will be on probation for four years with conditions including he have no direct or indirect contact with the victim, have no direct contact with female children under the age of 16, and undergo sexual offender counseling.
The felony charges mean he will be required to be on the state’s sex offender registry for the rest of his life.
Judge Geoffrey Rushlau said the consequences of such types of crimes on a child can be significant but praised the girl for reporting the crimes and expressed hope she will be able recover.
“Part of what makes sentences for these types of crimes harsh is the recognition of the impact it has on the victim,” Rushlau said. “But we also recognize that when a child has the courage to come forward and report what happened … and take charge of their lives, the damage they’ve suffered can be addressed. But it will clearly be something she will be living with for the rest of her life. At this proceeding, we can’t take back what happened. But I’m hopeful it can show her people believed in her, and people represented her in this whole process.”
Family members of the girl attended Tuesday’s court hearing but did not speak.
When Haggan, who wore a camouflage hooded sweatshirt in court, was asked by Rushlau if he had anything he wanted to say, Haggan replied only, “No, your honor.”
The maximum sentence on Haggan’s gross sexual assault charge was 10 years.
Haggan’s attorney, David Geller, asked that the start of Haggan’s imprisonment be delayed until Friday, which Tarpinian said the state did not object to, and which Rushlau granted. As a result, Haggan will be free, on $500 bail with a contract with Maine Pretrial Services to supervise him while on bail, until Friday, when he is required to report to the Kennebec County jail to be transferred later to a state Department of Corrections prison.
Keith Edwards — 621-5647
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