AUGUSTA — A Waterville man who allegedly exposed and touched his genitals while staring at an 11-year-old girl inside a T.J. Maxx store made his initial court appearance Monday on multiple charges and also has indecency charges pending in other Maine counties.

Nicholas R. Hutchings, 34, was arrested by Augusta police and charged with visual sexual aggression against a child, a Class C felony, and indecent conduct and violating a condition of release following the Feb. 6 incident at the Marketplace at Augusta shopping center.

Nicholas Hutchings

Police first responded to the shopping center after an employee of Kohl’s department store reported a man who had been in the store several times had exposed his genitals to a woman at the customer service counter, then left the store. While police were en route to that call, a T.J. Maxx employee also called police to report a man had just exposed himself to some customers and left the store.

The victim in that incident reported she was shopping with her 11-year-old granddaughter and noticed a man acting strange and staring very intently at the girl, while he was only several feet away from them as they shopped. She said she looked down and saw the man had his genitals exposed and was apparently masturbating, according to an affidavit filed in court by Augusta officer Simon Yorks.

Augusta police, who were provided with a photograph of the suspect from the the store’s video surveillance camera, found Hutchings walking down the road from T.J. Maxx, in front of Elevation Burger.

He told police he had been killing some time and had been to Kohl’s and other stores.

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The affidavit states Hutchings had recently been charged, three separate times, with indecent conduct.

On Monday, during Hutchings’ initial court appearance, state prosecutor Kristen Murray-James, an assistant district attorney, said Hutchings had pending court cases in Sagadahoc and Cumberland counties as well and was on bail for three separate indecent conduct cases, allegedly involving victims who were 18, 19 and 20 years old.

His bail was revoked in those cases and bail on the new Augusta case was set at $10,000 cash, with conditions including that he have no contact with children under 18, not use or possess illegal drugs, not return to Kohl’s or T.J. Maxx stores, and have no contact with the victims in the case.

Hutchings, wearing a green jail uniform, did not enter a plea Monday. He only spoke when asked questions by Judge Geoff Rushlau, answering “Yes, sir” when asked if he understood the charges against him.

Paul Corey, serving as defense lawyer of the day, reserved the right for Hutchings to seek a review of his bail. He said Hutchings would apply for a court-appointed lawyer. Rushlau said David Paris, who is acting as Hutchings’ attorney in other cases, would be appointed to represent him in the new case as well.

The grandmother of the girl involved in the T.J. Maxx incident told police she was able to get between her granddaughter and Hutchings and walk away.

In the police affidavit, authorities said Hutchings appeared to be heavily under the influence of narcotics, had large pupils and appeared to be unsteady on his feet and nodding off. While en route to the police station, he told police he wasn’t feeling well from narcotics he had taken, reporting he had taken a “fist-full” of Vyvanse, a drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The Class C felony charge of visual sexual aggression against a child is punishable by up to five years in prison. The other two charges, indecent conduct and violating condition of release, are misdemeanors.

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