BIDDEFORD, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- A former Biddeford Police officer accused of sexual abuse is suing another former officer for defamation.
Both Norman Gaudette and Terry Davis worked together in the 1990s at the Biddeford Police Department and Gaudette was Davis's supervisor. The lawsuit says that in 1990 and 1991, Gaudette was investigated for allegations of sexual abuse, during such time when Davis was also employed at the Biddeford Police Department. The lawsuit said the Attorney General's Office investigated it at the time.
In recent months, some alleged victims of the sexual abuse at the hands of several Biddeford officers have called for an investigation. They allege that the department turned the other way, even though it knew about the abuse.
During the recent meetings about the alleged sexual abuse, the lawsuit says that Davis has made several defamatory statements about Gaudette that have caused "specific and measurable harm." The lawsuit says one of the statements includes that the Attorney General's office purposefully threw the case against Gaudette.
The lawsuit names an article and a letter where Davis made the defamatory statements. The lawsuit says the remarks defame Gaudette discredit "the investigation which exonerated Gaudette, they impute sexual misconduct, criminal conduct, and describe characteristics that adversely affect his fitness for the proper conduct of his lawful business as a police officer."
The lawsuit is asking for punitive damages and says that Gaudette has suffered stress and depression from the false statements.
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