The Maine attorney general’s office is denying allegations that it mishandled a case 25 years ago that resulted in the murder conviction of Anthony Sanborn.
In a motion filed in Cumberland County Unified Criminal Court on Monday, the state is asking that a petition to review Sanborn’s conviction be dismissed. In the 27-page motion, Assistant Attorney General Paul Rucha denies more than a dozen allegations, including that the state withheld evidence and intimidated witnesses in Sanborn’s 1992 trial.
Sanborn was convicted of murdering Jessica Briggs on a Portland pier and dumping her body into Casco Bay. The two were 16 at the time, and Hope Cady, who was then 13, was the state’s key witness. But at a hearing in April to consider a review of Sanborn’s conviction, Cady recanted her original testimony and said that she was coerced into testifying against Sanborn.
Rucha denies that the state forced Cady to testify in a certain manner. His motion says that this spring, Cady complained to Augusta police that people associated with Sanborn’s defense team were harassing her.
Further, Rucha says many of the allegations against the state are vague and exceed the statute of limitations.
Rucha is asking that Sanborn’s petition for a postconviction review be dismissed. Sanborn is currently out on bail, pending a hearing that’s scheduled for end of July.
Defense attorney Amy Fairfield did not respond to requests for comment.
