A Livermore Falls man was arrested recently on an allegation that he sexually assaulted a girl younger than age 12.

Anthony Mecham

Anthony J. Mecham, 30, was arrested Friday on a warrant issued by the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office. He made his initial court appearance Monday at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta.

He is charged with one count of gross sexual assault, a class A felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Mecham allegedly engaged in a sexual act with a girl younger than the age of 12 years old, sometime between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2018, at a residence in Mount Vernon, according to an affidavit filed in court by Detective John Bourque, of the sheriff’s office. Mecham was an acquaintance of the girl’s mother.

The sheriff’s office was notified by a state Department of Health and Human Services worker after the girl told an official at the school she now attends that she had been sexually abused.

The girl told authorities Mecham made her engage in a sexual act with him.

When police interviewed him, Mecham, initially denied anything inappropriate had occurred, according to the affidavit; however, he later admitted during the interview, according to the affidavit, that the girl might have observed him masturbating in the shower and also in his bed.

Bail was set, in his initial court appearance Monday, at $10,000 cash or personal recognizance with supervision by Maine Pre-Trial Services and an ankle monitor. Bail conditions include that he have no contact with the victim or children under the age of 16, according to court documents.

A Kennebec County jail official said Wednesday that Mecham had not posted bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 8.