March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Court throws out conviction in sex assault case

PORTLAND — A divided state supreme court today threw out a former Eiiot man’s sexual assault conviction, ruling that incriminating statements he made to a police officer during a flight from Arizona to Maine should have been suppressed.

Dana Rose, 35, had been found guilty of gross sexual misconduct, unlawful sexual contact and burglary for breaking into an Eliot woman’s home and sexually assaulting her on July 27, 1988. Rose was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

In its 4-2 decision, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court set aside the three convictions on grounds that the police officer’s interrogation violated Rose’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights.

Rose was serving time at Arizona State Prison for burglary at the time of his Maine indictment. In completing the form in which he agreed to waive extradition, Rose circled a statement saying he wanted court-appointed counsel.

On the ride from prison to the airport, the officer escorting Rose to Maine told him that after they boarded the plane he was going to advise him of his Miranda rights against self-incrimination and that Rose could talk about the case if he wished.

Rose replied that he might “want to talk to a lawyer, but that he would think about it,” the court said.

After being given a Miranda warning during the flight, Rose waived his rights and gave the officer a confession.

In suppressing Rose’s statement, the court’s majority said the state violated his rights by ignoring his formal request for legal counsel.

“Rather than honoring his request, the state knowingly exploited the opportunity presented during the flight to Maine by questioning him in the absence of counsel,” the opinion said.

The minority opinion said Rose’s completion of the form in which he indicated his desire for appointed counsel was unrelated to the interrogation on the plane trip.


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