PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A former school basketball official was indicted on 29 counts, following an investigation by the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office that he had inappropriate contact with several minors throughout the region while serving as a referee.
“The Aroostook County Grand Jury indicted Andrew Legassie, 22, of Presque Isle on 29 total counts: seven counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, 12 counts of indecent conduct, seven counts of violation of conditions of release, one count of attempted sex abuse of a minor, and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor,” said District Attorney Todd Collins.
In February of this year, Collins said Aroostook County Sheriff’s deputies opened a criminal investigation into Legassie, following complaints to school staff and parents from area high school students.
“The complaints alleged that Legassie was sending sexually explicit images of himself to underage female students via social media,” said Collins.
Legassie, at that time, was a basketball referee at junior/senior high school games throughout Aroostook County.
“The Sheriff’s Office publicized the initial arrest of Legassie, on misdemeanor charges of indecent conduct, and asked for other young women who may have been victimized to come forward,” said the D.A.
“On Feb. 1, sheriff’s deputies received a report from parents and school officials in a northern Aroostook County town that a female juvenile high school student had received sexually explicit images from a former basketball referee, via Facebook. Deputies launched a criminal investigation and gathered evidence that Legassie had electronically transmitted sexually explicit images to more than one Aroostook County juvenile in the recent past,” said Darrell Crandall, chief deputy sheriff with the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office.
Crandall said Legassie, who until recently officiated at Aroostook basketball games, is accused of sending Facebook friend requests to high school students he encountered on the job.
“He would then engage them in increasingly inappropriate Facebook chat conversations that progressed to him sending pictures of himself performing sexual acts,” Crandall said.
Collins said many individuals came forward, making statements against Legassie.
“The victims were from one end of Aroostook to the other. Sheriff’s deputies continued the investigation until presenting a final report to the D.A.’s office for their review in June. This investigation included the issuance of search warrants to analyze electronic evidence and devices, as well as the interviews of many alleged victims,” said Collins.
Legassie’s charges not only involve his alleged transmission of sexually explicit images of himself to underage girls, but also his request to these girls for them to reciprocate, noted Collins.
“In at least two instances, the girls unfortunately did just that,” he said.
The names, ages and residence of the underage victims will not be released.
“This is a particularly disturbing situation, and one that we thankfully do not encounter very often. We commend the parents and school officials for promptly bringing this to our attention so we could intervene, investigate and begin our work to determine if there are other victims. It is important for parents to monitor the activity of their children on social media sites for this reason and many others,” said Crandall.
Crandall also acknowledged the “extensive investigative work of the deputies involved in the multi-month investigation and the cooperation and assistance from local police agencies.”
If you have information on this or other crimes, call the sheriff’s department at 532-3471 or 800-432-7842. You may also contact the ACSO via MyPD, a smartphone application for iPhone and Android.
