A Bingham man accused of sexually assaulting two women in separate incidents in Skowhegan and Smithfield remains out on bail after pleading not guilty to the charges against him last week.
Christopher Cates, 41, is charged with unlawful sexual contact and assault in connection with the Skowhegan case and unlawful sexual contact and violating conditions of release related to the Smithfield case.
He was originally scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for an arraignment, but the hearing was moved up after an indictment was handed up last month, according to Somerset County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney.
Cates is next scheduled to appear in court July 27, Maloney said.
The unlawful sexual contact charges are felonies because of Cates’ lengthy criminal history, which includes more than 15 convictions for sex offenses in the past 20 years. In the most recent allegations, a 60-year-old Smithfield woman said Cates had sexually assaulted her while visiting her home to look at a car she was selling on the side of the road.
A 48-year-old Norridgewock woman who saw his picture in the media following his arrest also told police she was sexually assaulted by Cates while she was cutting his hair at a salon where she works in Skowhegan in 2015.
Cates’ criminal history includes convictions in Franklin, Kennebec and Somerset counties, including unlawfully touching two girls while performing massages and exposing himself to a female jail guard in Franklin County in 2008, exposing himself to two women on the street in Skowhegan in 2011, and indecent contact and prohibited contact with a person younger than 14, both in 2014.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
Twitter: @rachel_ohm
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