ELLSWORTH, Maine — A Bucksport man was acquitted Friday in Hancock County Superior Court of 12 counts of sexually abusing a young girl.
Steve Kane, 49, was accused of abusing the girl, a family friend, over a period of nearly three years, from August 2008 until March of 2011, according to superior court documents. The girl was 12 years old when the alleged assaults began and 14 when they supposedly came to an end.
Kane was charged with six counts of unlawful sexual contact, four counts of gross sexual assault and two counts of sexual abuse of a minor.
After Daniel Pileggi, Kane’s defense attorney, and Assistant Hancock County District Attorney Mary Kellett each made their closing arguments Friday morning, the jury deliberated for about half an hour before it reached a verdict of not guilty on all counts, Kellett said.
Kellett said Friday after the trial was over that these types of sexual abuse cases often are difficult for juries to decide. When there is a pattern of assaults that happen repeatedly over an extended period of time, the evidence often consists just of one person’s word against another.
“We are never going to have evidence with unlawful sexual contact cases” she said. “As we all know, sex crimes don’t happen in front of witnesses.”
Kellett said that, if someone’s claims about being sexually abused are credible, the district attorney has to take them seriously even if the case does not involve any physical evidence or third-party witnesses. The alternative, she said, would be to let possible sex assaults go unaddressed.
“We have an obligation to prosecute,” Kellett said.
Pileggi could not be reached later Friday afternoon for comment.
During his closing arguments Friday morning, Pileggi highlighted not just the lack of physical evidence but the number of people known to come and go from the Kane family home, where Kane ran his retail clam business and where the assaults supposedly took place. He said no one besides the alleged victim ever told police about his client being left alone with her, and there was no indication of any escalating inappropriate behavior from Kane toward the girl.
Pileggi also told the jury it was odd that the alleged victim could provide few details about the incidents. She could not provide police with physical descriptions of what she saw during the alleged assaults, he said, nor could she provide details about what happened immediately before and after they supposedly took place.
“What is there to support the story she told you [Thursday]? Nothing,” Pileggi said. “This case is full of holes.”
During her closing argument and rebuttal, Kellett said there were plenty of times during which the assaults could have occurred, whether other people were in the house or not.
Kellett said the allegations against Kane came out at school when a teacher the girl trusted told her she looked sad and asked what was wrong. The teacher’s question was posed a week after the final alleged assault occurred, when the girl was feeling vulnerable, the prosecutor said. The girl broke down and everything “came out,” she said.
Another casualty of Mary Kellett’s crimes. This is what happens when prosecutorial discretion is given to an ideologue who doesn’t care about evidence so long as an accusation can be elicited against men. She needs to be disbarred and prosecuted for her crimes and corruption of the justice system, but instead the Attorney General and DA Carletta Bassano look the other way and allow Kellett to continue her public witch trials. http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/2012/04/12/me-bar-counsel-recommends-discipline-for-ada-mary-n-kellett/
Not guilty hmmm what about all of us who convicted him here? And the assistant DA u said its difficult for jurors to decide …really ? They did it an a half hour …lol…now i don’t know if he did this or not …but i will side with the jury who heard the evidence completely
The jury heard the evidence spoke …now with the evidence or lack of with the drug charges as with the oj Simpson trial they Will make him pay …for this alleged molestation by giving him life for drugs . oj Simpson got away with murder people say. now he is doing 20for trying to stealing his stuff..in a sense ….and the judge has a tv show lol welcome to America justice is a joke
i dont agree with Kelletts statement about having an obligation to prosecute even when the evidence needed doesnt exist. She is representing the state of maine and that includes the accused as well as the victim. no one should be allowed to get away with something like that, but neither should someone be unnecessarily prosecuted. if she does feel like she has an obligation to prosecute and that the system will just sort out who is guilty and who isnt, she at least shouldnt pretend the result was inconclusive. when a defendant is convicted after just thirty minutes of deliberation, you dont hear someone comment that juries have a hard time deciding cases when the evidence is so overwhelming. when 12 people can agree on 12 different counts in just 30 minutes (less than 3 minutes per count) even Kellett ought to consider the possibility that “not guilty” means hes not guilty.
Prosecutors are not allowed to abuse people with trials when evidence and the likelihood of a conviction is weak. They are given discretion to prevent this. But Mary Kellett is openly telling BDN that she in fact abuses prosecutorial discretion to “address” all sexual accusations by charging and prosecuting falsely accused men even when the evidence is weak. When we say “evidence” we are talking about ridiculous accusations (i.e. ½ hour verdict). She clearly abused her discretion here through 12 frivolous counts and a public trial of this innocent man. She did so last week through 7 counts against another innocent man who was accused in the course of a child custody battle with his wife. There are literally dozens if not hundreds of such examples. http://fillerfund.com/marykellett.htm That is a witch hunt and civil rights abuse for which Kellett would be fired, disbarred and prosecuted in many states. N. Carolina did so to 2 of its DAs. Kansas just did so to 2 assistant DAs who withheld very minor documents from defense. But laws and standards are not applied to Mary Kellett as she is allowed to continue even after openly admitting her misconduct in the Bangor Daily News and after judges found her guilty of engaging in prosecutorial misconduct. It’s people like this who corrupt the whole system with a complete indifference to justice.
DISGUSTING!!!! On a night where Jerry Sandusky, Defensive Coordinator of Penn State’s vaunted football program is finally found guilty on 45 of the 48 charges against him, Maine once again proves that we will always be behind the times and never get it right. We allow murderers go every day in this state. We give pedophiles and sexual deviants a home to perform their disgusting so-called sickness with little or no punishment, and the rest of the country looks at us and shakes their heads and wonder if we even have electricity up in these parts. Is it any wonder that when Maine is mentioned on national news shows and other programs, people look puzzled, with What is Maine?
I am so looking forward to moving from this corrupt disgusting state to greener pastures elsewhere.
Look man, this guy was tried and found not guilty by a jury. Now I agree and get mad at Maine’s judicial system when people accused of the same crimes he was accused of (and found guilty) get suspended sentences. But this man went through the system and was found not guilty after a VERY SHORT deliberation. And idc what you think you might know, but if anyone has the best idea of whether or not this man is guilty it would be the 12 people who’s “job” at that point, was to sit and hear evidence and testimonies and then make a decision. dont condemn this man because of hack reporting by the BDN. Oh and btw Jeff, go right ahead and move out of Maine. Something tells me you won’t be missed greatly.
Sorry if you dont care for my opinion or my views of this state, and sorry to the people that “liked” your comment. I have lived here most of my life and enjoyed this state as a child. Things change. Thankfully, my feelings dont get too hurt if a bunch of posters on the BDN say they wont miss me much:)
Dont let the door hit you.
Typical Mainer, why believe the word of a child? What do you expect someone actually gets for coming forward in a sexual assault case? Do you think they become some sort of celebrity or something? No, they face the rest of their life trying to erase the nightmares and scars from the things that happened. You obviously didnt see much of the Sandusky case. Kids are scared to death to come forward and when they actually do, this is what they have to look forward to..its shameful.
Yes JeffCol….clearly the message they are sending here is ,if you are a victim of sexual abuse ,assault or molestation, just keep your mouth shut because nothing can be done about it. Pathetic,this makes me sick!
See ya.
During her closing argument and rebuttal, Kellett said there were plenty of times during which the assaults……………………… “could” have occurred, her own words.. that is one heck of a statement coming from Kellet!!! I could tell you that I”” could” climb a tree, that doesn”t mean I did or will…. sounds stupid, I know, but so does this case……. FACTS, are what you need in these cases, not speculation!!
Another example of why neither name should be published until its over.
I SOOO agree with you. Names of both accusers, and accused, should be held until a verdict is announced. Not guilty, and your name is not released; guilty and your name is released. Now this man’s name has been dragged through the mud, over an obviously flawed accusation and prosecution. But of course, the media rules this country, so that will never happen.
This DA should be removed for annother disgraceful show of ineptness… 30 minute decision.. 10 minutes to leave and get in the jury room room, 15 minutes to elect a foreman, 5 minutes to vote,… case over… what a slap in the face to this DA for bringing an absurdly weak case to trial.
Now, who gives this man his life back?
If you have first hand knowledge that could have helped this girl you should have come forward before, not after.
so very true! The justice system IS a joke! I don’t get how they sentence people to so much time for a crime they convict them for, then suspend the sentence. It’s just wrong! I happen to know who this guy is, and nothing would surprise me with him. Whether or not he did it, who knows?? but the drug thing is a definate! It’s very well known around town
Someone should accuse Mary Kellett of sexual misconduct.