HOULTON, Maine — A Linneus man who pleaded guilty last week to multiple sex offenses now faces more time in prison after allegedly assaulting a corrections officer.
After Maurice Boyce, 38, failed to appear on the sex charges in Caribou District Court on Nov. 6, Deputy Alishia Ledger of the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office tracked him down in Linneus and arrested him, according to a press release issued Monday by Sheriff Darrell O. Crandall.
Boyce was transported directly to the Caribou courthouse where he pleaded guilty to three counts of gross sexual assault, three counts of unlawful sexual contact and one count of sexual abuse of a minor, according to Crandall.
The case then was continued for sentencing and Boyce was transported to the county jail in Houlton.
After he learned on Thursday, Nov. 9, that he was not going to make bail, Boyce “became irate and disruptive,” the sheriff said in the release.
“Boyce tried to slam a cell door on Corrections Sgt. Randy Schools and a struggle ensued to restrain Boyce,” the release states. “In that struggle, Boyce intentionally bit Corrections Officer Eric Grant on the forearm.”
The officers then subdued and secured Boyce.
Grant was treated for his injuries at Houlton Regional Hospital and returned to work, according to Crandall.
Deputy Sheriff Sgt. Matt Cummings investigated the jail assault and charged Boyce with assault on a corrections officer, a Class C felony.
Boyce faces up to 30 years in prison for the most serious Class A sex offense for which he was convicted. He faces an additional five years in prison on the assault charge.
Boyce will remain in jail until sentenced.
“Our corrections officers have a very challenging job and deserve great credit for the restraint they are expected to show on a daily basis,” Crandall said in the release. “We will not tolerate assaults, of any kind, on our officers and staff.”
