WISCASSET, Maine — Deputy Ken Hatch of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was arrested Tuesday on a warrant charging him with two felony counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

Hatch, 45, of Whitefield was booked at Two Bridges Regional Jail and held on $50,000 unsecured bail, according to a booking supervisor at the jail.





Just after 2 p.m., Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett issued a statement announcing that Hatch, a patrol deputy, was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a criminal investigation by the Maine attorney general’s office.

Tim Feeley, spokesman for Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, confirmed the charges but declined to comment further.

Brackett declined to release additional information pending the outcome of the investigation, but Maj. Ken Mason with the sheriff’s office said in an email Tuesday that Hatch was placed on leave on Thursday.

According to weekly police reports provided by the sheriff’s office, Hatch most recently made an arrest on April 16.

Hatch joined the sheriff’s office in 1999. In April of this year, he was named Deputy Sheriff of the Year, Brackett announced that month during a meeting of the Lincoln County Commissioners, the Lincoln County News reported.

At the time, Brackett also presented a meritorious award to Hatch and Deputy 1st Class Brian Collamore for their response to a call in Whitefield in 2015, during which an elderly man severed his hand with a saw.

“Deputy Hatch and Deputy 1st Class Brian Collamore’s compassion, skills, and professionalism are a testament to their commitment to the people of Lincoln County and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office,” Brackett said at the time, according to the Lincoln County News.