BIDDEFORD — Mayor Alan Casavant ordered a brief recess at Tuesday’s City Council meeting after Matt Lauzon, whose allegations of child sex abuse against a retired Biddeford police officer have triggered a flood of similar allegations against that man as well as another former Biddeford officer, began accusing current city employees of sexual misconduct.

Without naming anybody, Lauzon said he has heard but cannot verify allegations of sexual misconduct against two current city employees, including a city department head. At that point, Casavant began banging his gavel and warning Lauzon that he was out of line. Earlier in the meeting, the mayor said personnel matters cannot publicly be discussed for legal reasons.

When a motion to recess the meeting failed, Casavant stepped in, telling Lauzon, “I can declare a recess until you calm down. … I order a recess ”“ end of story,” at which point Lauzon exited the meeting.

A total of seven people spoke about the allegations, which surfaced early this year, triggering an investigation by the Maine Attorney General’s Office. In April, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed it is currently investigating allegations of sexual abuse involving a former Biddeford officer and a young teenage boy, but the details of that investigation have not been released.

Robert Brown, a global advocate for child victims of sexual abuse, bluntly told councilors at the meeting, “You’ve got a problem.” He condemned city officials ”“ specifically Casavant ”“ for not taking action on the matter.

“If your house is on fire and you call the fire department, are you going to accept an answer of, ”˜Well, we’ll take it into consideration’?” said Brown.

However, Casavant said after the meeting that he is “very comfortable” with the way the city has handled the allegations.

“We’ve referred to the Attorney General, we’re awaiting their decision, and we’ll move forward once we hear it,” he said.

Additionally, Casavant pointed to the fact that the primary allegations are not current, involving two former Biddeford officers who have not worked in the department for more than a decade.

“To make it sound like the city is not safe now, it’s not true,” he said. “These are old allegations, and people have to remember that.”

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or averzoni@journaltribune.com.