A Windham teenager is scheduled to appear in court next month on felony charges that he sexually assaulted two children under the age of 8, in 2013 and 2014.

Tyrell E. Gullatt, 18, of Windham faces two separate juvenile cases in the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland that were brought against him by the Windham police on Nov. 17, 2015. He was a juvenile when the assaults allegedly happened.

In one case, Gullatt is accused of assaulting a child who is now 8 years old sometime between June 1 and June 30, 2013, according to juvenile court records.

In the second case, Gullatt is accused of assaulting a different child who is now 5 years old, sometime between Sept. 7 and Dec. 28, 2014, according to court records.

Gullatt made his initial appearance in court in November to face the charges and was allowed to be released on court conditions that are not explicitly stated in the records.

In each case, only a single page of Gullatt’s court file was available for public viewing on Tuesday. Neither of the pages contained further details about the accusations against him.

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Typically, juvenile cases in Maine are confidential. But in felony cases such as Gullatt’s, some information is made public.

Gullatt is scheduled to appear in court on March 7.

A senior, Gullatt has been an excellent student-athlete at the school, said Sandy Prince, superintendent of Regional School Unit 14, which includes Windham.

Prince and other administrators, including Windham Athletic Director Rich Drummond, were notified of the criminal charges after they were filed last November, and staff at the high school formed a safety plan for Gullatt, which is standard procedure, he said. Prince would not reveal the specifics of Gullatt’s plan.

“We have to ride this out and see what the outcome will be,” Prince said. “We don’t in any way want to jump the gun, (and) at the same time we don’t want to have our heads in the sand.”

In addition to a strong academic record, Gullatt, was co-captain of the Windham football team during its 2015 season, and was a semifinalist for the Frank J. Gaziano Offensive and Defensive Lineman Awards, according to a flyer for the award banquet.

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Gullatt was announced as a semifinalist for the award on Dec. 21, about a month after he was charged. Windham High football coach Matt Perkins is listed on the Gaziano Awards’ website as its secretary and a member of the board of directors. Although he didn’t win, Gullatt received a $1,000 scholarship for being a semifinalist.

Perkins didn’t return a phone call seeking comment on Tuesday night and Drummond said the “sensitive” nature of the charges and the pending court case prevented him from discussing any aspect of the case.

“At this time, I’m not going to comment any further,” Drummond said by phone when asked if school officials knew about the charges against Gullatt when he was named as a semifinalist for the Gaziano awards.

Drummond did explain that the safety plan was put in place to protect Gullatt during the legal process. It involves giving him an access to an adult in the school system who can counsel or support him if necessary.

Gullatt’s attorney, Robert J. Ruffner, declined to answer questions about the specifics of the charges against his client or his relationship to the alleged victims.

“These are just allegations,” Ruffner said. “My client is presumed to be innocent. He’s a good kid in high school. And the case isn’t resolved yet.”

His parents are identified in his case file as Galen and Angela Gullatt. No one answered the phone at their home Tuesday night.

 

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