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Former University of Maine student William Diemer, 20, of Old Town, is currently serving jail time after he pled guilty to cruelty to animals Dec. 31, 2003, in 3rd District Court in Bangor. He was sentenced to nine months in jail with all but 30 days suspended. Diemer was accused of sexually assaulting horses at UMaine’s Witter Farm on Sept. 20, 2003.
In addition to the jail term, Diemer was sentenced to one year of probation and a $500 fine. He is to receive court-ordered counseling, is banned from university property, and is prohibited from owning or possessing animals for the rest of his life.
A previous charge of criminal trespass was dismissed.
Diemer was summoned by UMaine Public Safety after he allegedly was caught sexually assaulting a horse on Sept. 20, 2003. He initially fled from the scene and later was identified through evidence from video surveillance cameras.
A report from UMaine Public Safety read in court said that the videotape showed a man entering the horse stalls at 9:29 p.m., then fleeing when he was discovered by farm personnel at 9:56 p.m. The tape showed that he had been in three different stalls. Mops and buckets were also found in the stalls, and the buckets were found upside down behind the horses.
Two similar incidents occurred before 12 video cameras were installed as a safety precaution. A 20-year-old mare was sexually assaulted on Aug. 5, 2002, and an older mare was attacked in a similar manner in May 2003.
In both previous incidents, a foreign object was inserted into the horse’s reproductive organs with enough force to cause internal damage and bleeding, Public Safety Chief Noel March said in September. The horse involved in the Sept. 20 incident did not require medical treatment. A different horse was involved in each incident.
Those incidents are still under investigation.
Judy Finchum of Witter Farm testified at Diemer’s hearing, asking the court to use its power to ensure the harshest penalty, so Diemer would be punished under the full extent of the law.
“He should not walk among us, because he is the lowest of the low,” Finchum said.
Diemer apologized to the farm and said he did not commit the first two assaults.
A class D crime, the cruelty to animals charge is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Related Posts:- Former UM student, pleads not guilty in horse assault (November 17, 2003)
- University farm horse assaulted, student charged in bizarre case (October 2, 2003)
- Horse assaults prompt security upgrades (October 20, 2003)
- Women sentenced in connection with Lyford death (May 1, 2009)
- Professors, students teach horse handling (September 21, 2009)
