SKOWHEGAN — A Farmington man has been indicted by a Somerset County grand jury on 16 counts of rape of a child, some alleging compulsion and threats.

Joseph L. Magee

Joseph L. Magee, 40, of Lamkin Lane, remains held at the Franklin County jail on $100,000 cash bail. A jail intake officer in Farmington said Magee is being held on a probation violation and faces at least two more gross sexual assault charges in that county.

According to the indictment, the assaults appear to have been made on two girls – one who was under 14, the other under 18 – beginning in June 2014 and lasting until April of this year. Magee is listed in the indictment as being a person serving as a guardian or someone responsible for the long-term care and welfare of the children.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but is a determination that there is enough evidence in a case to proceed with trial.

Eight of the charges are listed as being Class A felonies, punishable by up to 30 years in prison on each charge. Eight other charges are Class B felonies, punishable by up to 10 years in prison on each charge.

There also is a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence assault on one of the alleged child victims.

Farmington police arrested Magee in April when information came to light about Magee’s alleged sexual assaults.

One of the girls told police that Magee threatened her with a hammer when he raped her, according to Farmington police Detective Marc Bowering’s affidavit filed with a Franklin County court.

Police were told that previous assaults had occurred on multiple instances in another county. The Somerset County grand jury alleges all of the assaults listed in the indictment took place in Skowhegan.

Bowering interviewed Magee and he “admitted to having sex” with one of the teenagers “anywhere from 60 to 70 times in the last year or two,” Bowering wrote.

Assistant District Attorney Roswell Fichthorn in Skowhegan was granted a motion to impound the affidavit that spells out the details of the charges against Magee for 60 days.

A dispositional hearing is set for court in Skowhegan on Aug. 29. A tentative trial date has been scheduled for Nov. 5.