AUGUSTA — A longtime local business owner charged with sexually assaulting a child had his bail cut in half Thursday, but a judge denied his request to be around the children of two family friends.

Sean M. Eori, 43, was arrested recently after he was indicted on 11 counts alleging he sexually assaulted, touched and exploited a child multiple times when she was as young as 12 years old.

Superior Court Justice MaryGay Kennedy reduced Eori’s bail Thursday to $25,000 from $50,000, agreeing with his lawyer, Walter McKee, that it had been set too high.

Kennedy denied a request from Eori and a couple who were in the courtroom Thursday that he be allowed to be around the couple’s 5- and 7-year-old children, despite bail conditions that banned him from having any contact with children.

McKee said the parents wanted Eori to be able to spend time with their children, under their supervision, because he has been around them since they were born.

Eori was also a family friend of the alleged victim in the sex offense charges against him, Assistant District Attorney Amanda Seekins said during the proceeding at the Capital Judicial Center.

Seekins alleged Eori had sexually assaulted the victim — whom he had known since she was a baby — multiple times when she was between 12 and 15 years old. She argued against altering his bail conditions to allow contact with the children of his other friends.

“That appears to be the exact same situation that was manipulated here. A trusted family friend — he used that status to engage in sexual assault,” Seekins said.

Eori, who lives in Albion, owns the D & R Campground in China and is a co-owner of the Winterport Dragway car racing track, according to municipal records and social media. There was no indication in court records that the allegations had any connection to Eori’s businesses.

Kennedy agreed to change one bail condition for Eori that banned him from being within 1,000 feet of any “SORNA zones,” an apparent reference to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act of 2013, which created Maine’s sex offender registry.

“That isn’t even a thing, a SORNA zone,” McKee said, noting the state sometimes places restrictions on convicted sex offenders being near areas where children may gather.

McKee also noted Eori has not been convicted of anything, has no criminal record and there is no way Eori could tell if he enters a restricted zone while traveling the state.

“That’s flatly unreasonable,” McKee said. “That has to be changed.”

Kennedy said she had never heard of a bail condition banning a defendant from being within 1,000 feet of a SORNA zone and, instead, ruled Eori cannot have any contact, direct or indirect, with children younger than 18.

Eori, who was already out on bail, was in court Thursday, but did not testify or enter a plea.

Seekins said all 11 charges involved the same child victim.

The most serious charge, a Class A offense of gross sexual assault, alleges that on or between Jan. 8, 2019, and Jan. 6, 2021, Eori engaged in a sexual act with the girl when she was younger than 14. It is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Six other charges — including unlawful sexual touching, sexual abuse of a child and sexual exploitation of a child — allegedly took place between Jan. 8. 2019, and June 6, 2022, and all occurred in Kennebec County, although the indictment does not indicate which municipality.

Eori also faces four counts of possessing sexually explicit materials, which allegedly took place June 23, 2022, in Windsor, and involved images of the child when she was younger than 16.

In arguing to reduce Eori’s bail, McKee said his client has lived in Maine for more than 20 years and is a longstanding business owner. McKee also said Eori has been aware of the police investigation focusing on Eori since 2022.

“If he wanted to run, he could have run,” McKee said. “He’s been aware for some time this was a possibility.”

Eori’s Facebook page shows he works for Air Control Industries in Windsor.

The campground Eori owns in China is where a 46-year-old woman died in May after suffering severe burns when attempting to start a fire.

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