The longtime owner of Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough has denied allegations of sexual abuse leveled against him in a lawsuit by a Gorham man, accusing the plaintiff and a former race driver who allegedly assaulted the speedway owner in 2014 of working together to try to blackmail him, court records show.
The lawsuit filed Jan. 20 accuses Andrew S. Cusack of befriending the 26-year-old Gorham man from a young age, acting as a father figure, and then drugging and taking advantage of him sexually after he became an adult.
The Portland Press Herald does not name victims of alleged sexual abuse without their consent.
In the March 9 response filed in Cumberland County Superior Court, Cusack denied the claims of abuse and also alleged that the Gorham man had colluded with Sean Caisse, 31, of Massachusetts. Caisse, a former professional race driver whom Cusack mentored for years, was indicted for allegedly beating and robbing the speedway owner at his Scarborough home in 2014.
Cusack alleges that Caisse and the Gorham man concocted the sexual abuse allegations to blackmail him.
In Cusack’s legal response to the lawsuit, he alleges that Caisse and the Gorham man began colluding as early as 2013.
He claimed they broke into Cusack’s camp in Portage on Sept. 4, 2013, and then racked up $2,500 in unauthorized charges on a stolen credit card.
On the same day as the alleged break-in, Cusack alleges that Caisse texted him to accuse him of abuse, and then asked “how much is it worth” to Cusack to get rid of the Gorham man.
Cusack reported the text messages and credit card theft to Scarborough police, but according to court records, there is no pending case against the Gorham man and he has no criminal record in Maine.
“Shortly after their unauthorized entry into my camp, the plaintiff and Caisse went to the Scarborough police and made vague allegations that they had been abused by me,” Cusack said in an affidavit in the most recent court filing.
“Caisse and plaintiff failed to file a formal complaint with the Scarborough police, at that time or later. … I believe Caisse and the plaintiff have colluded to make false claims against me in an effort to deflect responsibility for their criminal conduct.”
Cusack has never been charged with abuse or any other criminal offense, according to the State Bureau of Identification.
The Gorham man’s lawsuit seeks $500,000 in damages and accuses Cusack of assault and battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Caisse is due back in Portland criminal court Tuesday for a dispositional conference. He is charged with robbery, theft by unauthorized taking, and two counts each of aggravated assault and elevated aggravated assault, and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the most serious counts.
Matt Byrne can be contacted at 791-6303 or at:
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