Skowhegan man arrested for sexual abuse of minors

SKOWHEGAN – A local man is in jail after being arrested by police last week on charges of sexually assaulting two teenagers.

31-year-old Douglas Perkins was arrested on five counts of sexual abuse of a minor. Photo courtesy of Somerset County Jail

Douglas Perkins, 31, of Skowhegan and Mercer, is charged with five counts of Class C sexual abuse of a minor in connection with the alleged incidents, court records show. He was arrested Wednesday, June 26.

Perkins made his initial court appearance Friday in Somerset County Unified Criminal Court in Skowhegan, a court clerk said. Perkins was being held Wednesday in Somerset County Jail in East Madison, with bail set at $5,000.

According to an affidavit filed in court by Detective Sgt. Kelly Hooper of the Skowhegan Police Department, the investigation into the case began in February when a family member of one of the alleged victims filed a report with police.

In a subsequent interview with a staff member at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Waterville on Feb. 28, one of the alleged victims reported having a sexual encounter with Perkins, the affidavit states. The alleged victim was 14 years old at the time of the reported sexual abuse, Hooper’s affidavit states.

The Children’s Advocacy Center is a program of the Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Center and serves Kennebec and Somerset counties, according to its website. Its multidisciplinary team conducts a coordinated assessment of children following allegations of sexual abuse.

The other alleged victim later told a Children’s Advocacy Center employee about several sexual encounters she had with Perkins in 2023 and 2024, Hooper wrote in the affidavit. That alleged victim, who was related to Perkins’ girlfriend and friends with the other alleged victim, was 14 and 15 years old at the time of the reported incidents, the affidavit states.

The Morning Sentinel does not disclose the identities of alleged victims of sexual abuse without their consent and, to protect their identities, withholds certain details of the alleged crimes contained in court records.

The alleged incidents involving Perkins occurred in Skowhegan and Mercer, according to court records. The complaint filed with the court states that the alleged sexual abuse of one of the alleged victims, which amounts to four counts, occurred between August 1, 2023, and February 27, 2024. The other count of sexual abuse of the other alleged victim occurred in February, the complaint states.

One of the alleged victims told investigators she was “paralyzed with fear” during the alleged sexual abuse, Hooper wrote in the affidavit. The other victim said she felt “very uncomfortable” and that Perkins’ alleged actions made her feel nauseous, the affidavit said.

In a March 27 interview with Hooper, Perkins denied all of the alleged incidents except one, in which he was drunk and asleep, according to the affidavit. Perkins told Hooper during the interview that he theorized “the girls were probably getting together” and made up an elaborate story “to get me in trouble.”

Perkins is due back in court on Wednesday, August 28. No charges have been filed against him, according to court records.

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