A charge of sexual assault has been dropped against a Wayne man over problems with the case’s evidence, according to court documents.

The Franklin County prosecutor’s office on Feb. 22 filed a dismissal of the charge against Mark B. Kimball, 61, citing “insufficient evidence” to support an allegation that he assaulted a 6-year-old boy.

Meanwhile, Kimball’s attorney, Leonard Sharon, claimed that the allegation of sexual assault was part of an effort by the boy’s mother to extort money from Kimball.

“We were able to show that the mother of the child had threatened Mark with a knife and actually cut his hand when he attempted to disarm her,” Sharon said via e-mail on Monday. “Mark reported the attack and the extortion effort to the police. After he made the report to the police, the report of his sexually assaulting her son first came to light.”

Kimball was arrested at his home March 29, 2012, by officers with the Maine State Police and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

He was taken to Franklin county jail and initially held in lieu of $50,000 bail. The next day, he posted $1,000 cash bail.

Kimball had been accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy on Feb. 26, 2012, in a hotel room in Carrabassett Valley that he had shared with the boy and the mother. The charge was brought in Franklin County.

Assistant district attorneys who had worked on the case were in court on Monday and unavailable to comment about the dismissal.

Betty Adams — 621-5631
badams@centralmaine.com