AUGUSTA — A 37-year-old Vassalboro man Monday denied from the witness stand Monday charges that he sexually touched a girl on several occasions over a two and a half year period beginning when she was 11 years old.

Travis Lyon, who was a corrections officer at the Maine State Prison in Warren when he was indicted on the offenses in February, pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been free on bail pending the trial, which started Monday in Kennebec County Superior Court.

“I was a little stunned” when a trooper told him of the allegations against him, he testified Monday.

The girl named as the victim, now 14, testified Lyon touched her a number of times on top of her clothes and under her clothes. On at least one of those times, three other people were in the same room, and frequently other people were nearby.

She said the touching was “inappropriate,” adding “I wouldn’t know how else to describe it.”

The girl testified she was touched on “my breasts, my butt and my vagina.”

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The Kennebec Journal’s policy is not to name individuals who are listed as victims of sexual offenses.

According to the indictment against Lyon, which lists three charges of unlawful sexual contact, the offenses occurred March 3, 2011-Aug. 5, 2013, in Vassalboro.

The girl testified too that one of the occasions was in a tent at a campground in Lily Bay State Park, Beaver Cove.

Maine State Trooper Rick Moody testified that the girl did not disclose that occurrence to him even though he specifically asked her about it. He also testified that he later watched her being interviewed by a sexual assault worker and that the girl told an interviewer the sexual contact occurred there as well.

“There is no physical evidence in this case,” defense attorney William Baghdoyan told jurors in his opening statement. “There are no witnesses to these claimed events.” He said he expected the jury to find substantial reasonable doubt that the events occurred.

Lyon and his former wife, Lynn Shepherd, testified that they had a difficult relationship, punctuated by problems that arose from an affair Lyon had with a co-worker around 2004 while he was a corrections officer at the Kennebec County jail, which resulted in a child.

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“What you’re going to hear today is not going to be pleasant,” the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Kristin Murray-James, told jurors in her opening. She said the girl disclosed the inappropriate sexual touches first to a friend and then to her mother about two years after they started.

One charge against Lyon is categorized as a class B offense since it describes the victim as being younger than 12 at the time; that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.

The other two charges are listed as class C offenses, each of which carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

Lyon, in a gray suit with a tie, sat upright at the defense table, watching the jurors as his attorney addressed them. Lyon also took a number of notes as his ex-wife testified.

As many as 19 people watched most of Monday’s proceedings, including a group of high school students.

Witnesses, except for the defendant, were not permitted in the courtroom unless they were testifying.

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Justice Michaela Murphy told jurors to report back to the court at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to hear attorneys’ closing arguments and her instructions on the law. They are expected to deliberate Tuesday.

There were only five witnesses, including Lyon, Shepherd, the named victim, her friend and a state trooper.

Baghdoyan said that the investigation was complete by Aug. 12, 2013, but it was put on hold for about six months, and then a week after the couple’s divorce was settled in February, Lyon was indicted and arrested.

Lyon testified he lost his job as a result of the arrest. He had worked at the prison for about 10 years.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams


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