FARMINGTON — A Madrid Township man faces a new felony charge for a comment he made to a victim and his family after a Franklin County jury found him guilty Friday of sexually abusing a minor.

John A. Fahnley, 59, was walking toward the doors to leave the Franklin County Superior Courtroom in handcuffs with Franklin County Detective Lt. David St. Laurent. The victim and his family came out of a witness room in the courtroom to watch him go.

Fahnley looked at them and said, “I hope you are happy” before he went through the doors.

St. Laurent charged Fahnley by summons on a felony charge of violating conditions of release for the comment he made, Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said.

“This act violated his conditions of release that no contact with the victim or family members could be made,” he said.

Fahnley is expected to be sentenced this week on the sex abuse charge. His arraignment on the new charge is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. April 8 at the Franklin County Superior Court.

Jurors deliberated for about nine hours during a three-day trial on two sexual abuse charges and a gross sexual assault charge. The jury acquitted Fahnley of two of the three counts.

Fahnley is being held without bail, which Assistant District Attorney Joshua Robbins requested because Fahnley was convicted of rape and abuse of a child in 2003 in connection with his employment at Outward Bound in Boston, he said. He was sentenced to 3½ years of probation, according to the Maine Sex Offender Registry, which he was on for 10 years until recently.

dperry@sunjournal.com