A Waterville man is charged with sexually assaulting a child under the age of 12 multiple times over the last three years.

John L. Willey

John L. Willey, 37, was arrested Thursday and charged with two counts of gross sexual assault and one count of unlawful sexual contact for allegedly raping a girl younger than 12 years old between 2017 and 2019, in Waterville.

According to an affidavit completed by Waterville Police Detective Damon Lefferts, Willey admitted to police that he raped the girl two or three times at a Waterville apartment. Willey, according to the affidavit, said he did not wear a condom. The affidavit also said Willey admitted he had touched the girl’s breasts. The alleged encounters happened when no one else was at the apartment.

The girl told police she took showers and cried herself to sleep after the incidents. She said after one incident he told her they “had a little secret now.”

The two gross sexual assault charges are class A felonies, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. The unlawful sexual contact charge is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years.

Willey was arrested Thursday and taken to Kennebec County jail, with bail set at $100,000 cash and conditions that he have no contact with the victim or any children under 16-years-old.