Barter, who has been the Boothbay Harbor Town Clerk since 1953 and is currently a Lincoln County Commissioner, will be arraigned Thursday, November 12 at 1 p.m. in Kennebec County Superior Court.

Following the indictment, Barter was arrested on the charges Friday afternoon, November 6 in Augusta by Kennebec County Sheriff Deputy Randy Liberty, according to Deputy Mark Graham. Graham said Barter turned himself in at the Sheriff's Department, paid the bail of $100 cash (bail was set at $1,000 surety or $100 cash) and was released at 4:18 p.m.

Assistant District Attorney Evert Fowle confirmed the charges and bail amount and said the charges, which are misdemeanors, carry a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

The alleged incident was reported to have taken place in Augusta on May 29, 1998 at the time of the Republican State Convention.

According to the indictment, the unlawful sexual contact count read Barter ``did intentionally subject (the male victim) to a sexual contact, the (victim) not having expressly, impliedly acquiesced in the sexual contact.''

In addition, the assault count in the indictment charged that Barter ``did intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly cause bodily injury or offensive contact to (the victim).''

Boothbay Harbor Police Chief Floyd McDunnah said he referred the matter to the State Attorney General's office.

``A sexual incident involving a juvenile was brought to my attention,'' he said. ``Due to the sensitivity of the issue, the potential conflict of interest involving a town and county official and because the alleged incident happened outside my jurisdiction. I immediately called the Attorney General's office.''

``I'm surprised they did this,'' said attorney Jodi Nofsinger on Wednesday, who is representing Barter, along with attorney Jack Simmons. ``I'm further surprised they indicted him by a grand jury because this is a misdemeanor. For some reason they did present it to the grand jury and that is unusual. I'm not sure why they did that.''

Nofsinger said, ``I understand they did an extensive investigation. The A.G. was involved. I'm surprised they charged him. They took a long time to decide on the charges. I feel it is difficult to prove that this happened.''

Nofsinger also said it is her understanding that the alleged incident involves ``just one person,'' when she was asked if any other victims might have been involved.

When this newspaper contacted the Attorney General's office in October, they would neither deny nor confirm any investigations by the office of this alleged incident.

When contacted on Tuesday at his business, Bob's Photo-TV, Barter referred inquiries to his attorney.

``My attorney told me not to talk to anybody,'' said Barter.

According to James Gallagher, chairman of the Lincoln County Commissioners, Barter has been a commissioner for 28 years.

``Bob has a very good business sense. He has contributed to running the county as a business in which he has been successful,'' said Gallagher. ``As a fiscal conservative he is careful to watch the tax dollars as far as the selectmen are concerned. He deserves the presumption of innocence that we all have.''