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Wilton man charged with kidnapping, sexual assault

3 mins read
Jason Lee Baker Sr. (Photo courtesy of Franklin County Detention Center)

WILTON – A local man faces felony charges this week, after allegedly holding a bound woman against her will for several hours.

Jason Lee Baker Sr., 44 of Wilton, has been arrested and charged with kidnapping, a Class A felony; gross sexual assault, a Class B felony; and aggravated assault, a Class B felony. The charges relate to an incident that is alleged to have occurred on June 8.

According to Chief Heidi Wilcox, Wilton officers responded to a 9-1-1 call from a Welch Road address at approximately 6:53 p.m. Saturday, after receiving a report of an unclothed woman with bound wrists had been running down the roadway. Sgt. Chad Abbott and Officer Kevin Lemay responded.

According to an arrest affidavit filed by Abbott, the woman had fled to a neighbor’s house with her hands bound behind her back with rope and duct tape. The neighbors cut the woman free and called the police.

The woman told police that she had been struck unconscious by Baker, who then tied her hands and feet. When she woke up, the woman told police, Baker was raping her. The woman also told police that Baker had run a knife down her body. She estimated that she had been tied up for four to five hours before Baker left the residence in a vehicle. She was then able to leave the residence.

The woman and Baker reportedly knew each other prior to the alleged incident.

The woman was transported to Franklin Memorial Hospital via NorthStar EMS. Abbott arrested Baker on charges of gross sexual assault and aggravated assault, with the latter charge relating to Baker allegedly hitting the woman with a baseball bat. The District Attorney’s Office added the kidnapping charge Monday morning.

Baker appeared in court today, where bail was set at $15,000 cash or $500 cash with a Maine Pretrial Services contract. Conditions of his release would include no use or possession of alcohol, dangerous weapons or illegal drugs, with random search and test for same, as well as no contact with the alleged victim.

Wilton police were assisted at the scene by Franklin County Sheriff’s Office personnel as well as members of the Maine State Police Evidence Response Team.

Wilcox said that the investigation is ongoing.

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18 Comments

  1. Tell me you are joking. The bail was set at $15,000 cash or $500 cash with a Maine Pretrial Services contract. The judicial system should be ashamed. Let me get this right. Hit with a baseball bat which could have killed this woman, bound, raped and terrorized with a knife while naked, forcing the victim to run naked in public to escape and that’s it?????? Wow…..I don’t think I want my grandkids growing up in this area if this is the message we send to creepy criminals in our community. Bad job judge. So shocking and sickening.

  2. I can’t believe there is even an option for bail with charges like that…. This is horrific.

  3. Releasing a perpetrator of these crimes for any amount of bail or pretrial deals is an example of our judicial system sending the wrong message to our community. There appears to be a reluctant
    objection to these behaviors here in Franklin County. We talk about our concern for domestic violence and sexual assaults being on the rise in our communities. We walk around at planned events with our signs and our literature and spend tax dollars to support agencies dedicated to talking about the cycle of abuse. We know a high percentage of these perpetrators will be repeat offenders. A victim survives, the perpetrator is jailed and offered bail or a deal for release back into our community? I am sure there was no pre-assault deal offered to the victim. What message are we sending to assailants, kidnappers, sexual deviants and rapists here in Franklin County? Isn’t it odd that we do all this talk, spend, talk some more and the problem continues to escalate? I would feel safer in my community if I could see that the judicial system is walking that talk.

  4. To answer the question (but not defend it): The 8th amendment guarantees that bail cannot be set too high. Essentially because one has the presumption of innocence, bail cannot be used to punish or respond to the nature of the charge. The only times you can really be denied bail is on a murder charge, or if the judge deems one a flight risk. So it may seem surprising, but this is how the system works, based on the constitution. The US takes the presumption of innocence more seriously than most countries.

  5. One can quickly do a google search and find all manner of crimes with bail set higher than this amount. LIving in this area, and looking for a house to buy. Was considering Wilton, but this is a deal breaker. Who wants to live where this type of crime happens. Someone who commits such acts is an endangerment to the community, BUT THEN the gross injustice continues in the system. This is heinous.

  6. No surprise, the police do their jobs again and the judges fail to do theirs. Disgusting

  7. Due to the 8th amendment the bar is high. There is to be clear and convincing evidence that the defendant will do harm if released. It isn’t enough to look at what the defendant did. EIther that, or if you’re a flight risk. I think this is far more common than people think. Again, I’m not defending it, but it’s not out of the ordinary.

  8. I commend mr erb. Thank you for your input. You stated clearly that you were not defending but just explaining. I am surprised that bail was set low but with your input helped me understand.
    What do you tell your daughter? Is she 5? Then you tell her nothing. You parent her. Is she a teen? Teach her safety…self defense.
    Scared to move here? Good!
    I have lived here all my life. I love my town. Yes sometimes bad things happen. I will always defend our police department. I think they all go above and beyond. They pay attention. They question. But they cannot be everywhere all the time. I feel very bad for the victim. I hope she does get help and learn to process the horrific thing that happened. But I think we are way to quick to lay blame. In this case it’s the judge. If you dont like what is or has happened, why are we not asking how can we change this?
    To all of you that commented that the judge is to blame, how do we make the judge support the cops side? How to we make them balance?
    My own personal opinion is I get disgusted when I see someone get more time for a robbery then for murder. We are saying money is more important than human life.

  9. Just talking to our girls and teaching them self-defense misses the point and puts the onus on girls to not be harassed and assaulted. I have two elementary aged boys. I teach them respect, empathy, and consent. When they tell me stories about somebody kissed so-and-so on the playground I consider that a teaching opportunity. I ask, “Who initiated this, did they ask first, was the receiver comfortable with this kind of attention?” If boys don’t have opportunities to talk about this then they’ll be educated by other boys on the playground and society at large. No thanks!

  10. Mr Erb the evidence supports more than a bail of $500 even with the assumption of innocence. When a man set a tiny receipt on fire at Dollar General his bail was set at $5000. I doubt the police are lying about what they’ve witnessed thus far. It must be so frustrating to be in law enforcement in this liberal society gone completely bonkers.

  11. HIGH is a relative term. $15,000 would be onerous bail for a disabled, homeless, veteran; a moderate bail for a retired school teacher, and a joke for POTUS. The idea is to keep you from fleeing the justice system.

  12. Innocent until proven guilty. That’s our justice system. Have we heard his side if the story? No. Is there proper evidence of the crime. TBD. Some of you act like Judges yourself. Let this play out in court.

  13. The structure/ behavior of this assault do not sound like this is his first attempt. There are likely others who have been harmed by him. I hope they come forward and I hope they will be respected for that.

    I believe the court erred in granting a low bail amount. This individual exhibits a dangerous behavioral profile characteristic of a serial offender.

    I hope investigators dig deeper. This profile of assault raises red flags and warrants thorough investigating. I think you will find more.

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