Pastor loses appeal of conviction for contact with teenage girl

[left-of-center2012]

Sanford, Maine --
A Wells, Maine, clergyman has lost his appeal of a misdemeanor assault conviction for placing his hand on a 15-year-old girl’s back and complimenting her tight jeans. The girl testified that she was in a fast food restaurant when Peter W. Leon, 66, touched her back and told her that her “jeans looked nice … nice and tight in all the right places.”

Leon, who has been associated with Trinity Coastal Community Church, formerly known as Wells Branch Baptist Church, denied the allegations but was found guilty of assault – in this case defined as offensive physical contact – after a one-day trial in York County Superior Court in Alfred last November.

Leon was sentenced the next day to a suspended 60-day jail term and fined $300, subject to one year of administrative release with conditions that he have no contact with the victim or her family, and that he undergo psychological and sexual harassment counseling.

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/05/24/wells-pastor-loses-appeal-of-conviction-for-contact-with-teenage-girl/

[left-of-center2012]

1. Same pastor, different crime

According to Kennebunk police Detective Stephen Borst, Leon is accused of trying to take over the finances of an elderly woman who was living at The Atria, a Kennebunk assisted-living facility. Borst said the woman was incapacitated and her affairs were under the control of a local lawyer, who had been appointed her conservator.

The lawyer contacted police in May about Leon, who has been pastor of Wells Branch Baptist Church and was a volunteer pastor at The Atria. It’s not known if Leon is still the pastor of the church and attempts to reach him Thursday were unsuccessful. Calls to the church were not answered and a phone number listed for his home in Wells has been disconnected.

Borst said the lawyer told police that Leon had taken the woman, without permission, to her bank to withdraw money. The exact amount was not disclosed but it was less than $500. That led to the criminal restraint and theft charges, Borst said.

According to Borst, the lawyer also said that Leon got the keys to the woman’s house in Kennebunkport and changed the locks to prevent real estate agents from showing the house and selling it. He allegedly paid the locksmith with the money withdrawn from the woman’s account, Borst said. Those actions led to the criminal trespass of a dwelling and criminal mischief charges.

Full story at:
https://www.pressherald.com/2017/11/09/wells-pastors-charged-with-trying-to-take-over-elderly-womans-finances/

[left-of-center2012]

2. Ran as a Republican for state House in 2014

Jun 5, 2014

Peter Leon is a Republican candidate running for Maine State Representative in District 7 in one of 20 contested primary races in the state.

Pastor of the Wells Branch Baptist Church, Leon moved to Wells in 2003 from Machias and says he has been an ordained minister for 30 years. He spends much of his time ministering to residents in nursing homes, hospitals, and shut-ins, he says.

If elected, Leon said, “I will serve the residents of Wells to the best of my ability, to advocate for them.

“I love giving back to my community,” he said. “My motto of life is ‘do as much as you can, for as many as you can, for as long as you can.’”

Leon, who is the current president of the Wells Rotary Club, is not a newcomer to serving in public office. Before moving to Wells, he was the minister at the First Congregational Church of Machias. In 1998 he was elected to the Calais School Committee.

[dalton99a]

3. More like "Do as much as you can, TO as many as you can, for as long as you can."