UMaine Police Charge Man with Animal Cruelty, Criminal Trespass

Contact: Media contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571

ORONO, Me. — University of Maine police have charged William Diemer, 20, of Old Town, with misdemeanor cruelty to animals and misdemeanor criminal trespass.  The charges follow an investigation into a Sept. 20 incident in the horse barn at UMaine’s Witter Teaching and Research Center. 

Police allege that Diemer, who is a UMaine student, is the person who was in the process of assaulting a horse on that evening when a farm staff member interrupted him.  During the incident, the assailant’s actions were captured by a digital surveillance camera.  UMaine investigators have used those images as the basis of their investigation during the past 12 days.

The horse did not require medical treatment following the Sept. 20 incident.

There have been two instances in the past 14 months during which horses have been sexually assaulted and injured at the same UMaine facility.  After the second incident, which occurred in May of this year, the security cameras were installed and security practices have been enhanced on the property, which is located off College Ave.

“We are continuing this investigation to determine whether we can prove a connection to the incidents of August 2002 and May 2003,” says Chief Noel March, director of UMaine’s Department of Public Safety.

March credits cooperation from area police agencies, farm staff members and others in the community with helping determine the identity of the person in the photographs.