Horse Assaulted at UMaine Farm; Police Officials Site Similarities to 2002 Incident
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
ORONO — University of Maine police are investigating the sexual assault of a horse at the university’s Witter Teaching and Research Center. Police say that the incident, which occurred sometime between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning “seems identical” to an assault that took place at the same farm on Aug. 5, 2002.
“We are outraged,” says Chief Noel March, director of UMaine’s Dept. of Public Safety. “This is the type of incident that shocks the conscience. It is a high priority to solve this crime and to find the person responsible.”
The horse, a mare boarded at the UMaine facility, was found in distress by farm staff members shortly after 6 a.m. Wednesday. Those employees quickly recognized the seriousness of the horse’s injuries and called UMaine police. A veterinarian, Dr. Dennis Ruksznis of Dover-Foxcroft, was called in to examine the animal.
“Our worst suspicions were confirmed by the examination,” says Dr. Robert Causey of the UMaine Animal and Veterinary Sciences faculty and coordinator of the university’s equine program. “It verified that the horse had been intentionally assaulted.”
March is asking for the members of the public to help in identifying the assailant. Those with information can either call the UMaine Dept. of Public Safety at 581-4040 or anonymously report information at the department’s “Campus Eyes” website, at http://umaine.edu/police/campus-eyes/.