SKOWHEGAN — One of the owners of a family-owned Skowhegan restaurant has resigned after a video widely shared on Facebook appeared to show him taking an inappropriate image of a young woman.

In the video posted to Facebook on Sunday, Eric Dore, a co-owner of the Old Mill Pub, is interacting with the woman as she stands at the rear of a car filling out paperwork. At one point he walks behind her and appears to position his cellphone below her skirt before placing the phone in the car.

The recent recording was posted to Facebook by a Madison resident named Katie Perry. She declined to comment Tuesday, saying the video was passed along to her by someone who did not record it. Her post says the video was taken by a person inside a nearby building who began recording after noticing photos being taken of the young woman, who is described in the post as a teenager.

The video as of Tuesday had more than 93,000 views and was shared more than 1,570 times.

Following the posting of the video, Dore’s personal Facebook page and the Old Mill Pub’s Facebook page were deactivated or taken down.

Several attempts on Tuesday to contact Skowhegan police Chief David Bucknam about whether police are investigating the matter were unsuccessful. Perry shared the post with the Facebook page of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office but an official with the office declined to comment and deferred questions to Skowhegan police.

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A public phone listing for Dore could not be found to respond to the video.

It wasn’t clear when the video was recorded or whether police may bring charges in the matter.

The Dore family purchased the restaurant in 2012 from the McCarthy family when it was known as McCarthy’s Old Mill Pub.

Benjamin Dore, Eric Dore’s brother and a co-owner of the restaurant, acknowledged the video recording in a phone interview Tuesday and said the incident was “absolutely a shock” to the family.

He said the owners of the restaurant agreed to remove Eric Dore as a co-owner, but said the process to complete that takes time. He said Eric Dore’s wife will remain a co-owner.

“She was hurt tremendously,” Benjamin Dore said.

The Old Mill Pub’s Facebook page was reactivated Tuesday and a statement was shared that said Eric Dore’s resignation was accepted by the other owners.

“Please understand that the dedicated staff that rely on us to support their families will strive to provide the same level of service, quality food and community support as we always have,” the statement said. “We will plan to resume regular operations today and ask for your understanding, and most of all, maintain peace for all those not involved. Thank you.”

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