AUGUSTA — A Clinton man was found not guilty Thursday of kidnapping but guilty of domestic violence assault and other charges, despite the victim in the case testifying to a jury that she made up some of her allegations against him as revenge.

Colby J. Michaud, 31, was accused of grabbing his then live-in girlfriend by the throat while she was on the toilet, then throwing her to the floor, after moving security cameras at their Clinton home, allegedly so his actions would not be recorded, according to court documents.

Testimony in the two-day trial also indicated Michaud took the woman’s cell phone away from her and didn’t allow her to leave the residence for three to five hours, and held her arms behind her back, hurting her, according to Jake Demosthenes, an assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case.

Thursday a jury found Michaud guilty of domestic violence assault, criminal restraint, and obstructing the report of a crime, according to Maeghan Maloney, district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties. Michaud was found not guilty of kidnapping.

The victim in the case testified in court after being called as the only defense witness by Michaud’s attorney, Hillary Knight. She said she was not innocent in the incident, that she had tried to hit Michaud, and that Michaud never hit her and did not intend to hurt her that night. She also testified that she made up some of the allegations because she was mad at Michaud and because her friends, family and authorities had encouraged her to pursue allegations against him.

She said she sought “revenge, more than anything,” in making the claims, which she testified she later tried to recant.

Knight said the victim initially invoked her Fifth Amendment rights not to testify, but agreed to testify after being promised immunity from prosecution.

Demosthenes said it was clear that Michaud was the aggressor in the incident between the pair, and that he had “bear-hugged” her multiple times, had pulled her off the toilet and then refused to let her leave the residence.

The newspaper is not identifying the woman because its policy is not to identify victims of domestic violence without their permission.

Testimony, including from a MaineGeneral Medical Center emergency room doctor, indicated that the woman told police and the doctor that she was injured by Michaud.

Dr. Daniel Cabral testified that the woman reported she had been struck and choked and had her arms pulled back behind her, causing shoulder pain, and that she also reported she had knee pain from the assault. He said there was some evidence of external injury to her neck.

An affidavit filed by James Leathers of the Clinton Police Department states Leathers saw some redness around the woman’s neck.

However Knight said in her closing arguments that the woman, after examination, did not have any injuries.

Demosthenes played audio of telephone conversations that Phillip Lynch, a detective with the district attorney’s office, said he recorded between Michaud and the victim, in which Michaud is heard urging the victim to refuse to testify against him.

On Oct. 4, 2023, Michaud reached a plea deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to the same charges the jury found him guilty of Thursday.

A judge allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea at his sentencing, after Knight, Michaud’s second attorney on the case, pointed out what she said could have been flaws in how his prior attorney handled aspects of his case. Knight expressed concerns about whether the state had shared all the evidence in the case with the defense, as required by discovery rules.

In that plea agreement, the state had dismissed the kidnapping charge, which Michaud was found not guilty of Thursday. The end result, according to Maloney, is Michaud was found guilty, at trial, of the same charges he’d pleaded to previously.

“I appreciate the jury’s careful consideration” Maloney said Friday. “The jury came to the same decision the DA’s Office came to when making the plea offer in October of 2023. I am thankful for the investigation of the Clinton Police Department, the bravery of the victim, and the advocacy of (Demosthenes).”

Maloney said a witness tampering charge and violating a condition of release charge for allegedly contacting the victim are still pending against Michaud and will be given a future trial date.