PORTLAND — A former Falmouth part-time firefighter has been indicted for arson by a Cumberland County grand jury.
Griffin Kline, 20, of Woodlands Drive, Falmouth, was indicted Friday, Jan. 10, on a single Class A felony charge, nearly two months after his arrest for allegedly setting two fires in Falmouth.
Kline was indicted for just one of those fires, according to Tamara Getchell, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
Indictments are findings that enough evidence exists to prosecute, not findings of guilt.
Kline was arrested on Nov. 20 after a two-month investigation of two suspicious fires.
On Sept. 14, firefighters responded to dumpster fire at 161 Woodlands Drive, Falmouth. Several hours later, a second fire destroyed a “small wooden structure on the golf course containing bathrooms for the Woodlands Country Club,” police have said. The structure was valued at $30,000.
The grand jury indicted Kline for the incident at the country club.
“That’s the only one we can prove,” Getchell said.
At the time of the fires, Kline served as a part-time, on-call firefighter for the Falmouth Fire/EMS Department, but he was placed on unpaid leave when he was identified as a suspect, according to town officials.
Falmouth police have said there was no financial motive in the fires. Kline “was just bored,” according to Lt. John Kilbride.
Earlier in November, a Cumberland County grand jury handed up two indictments against Kline for charges that included alleged sexual acts with a minor.
In those proceedings, Kline was indicted on gross sexual assault of a minor, sexual abuse of a minor, violating a protection order, and violating conditions of release – charges that stemmed from three separate incidents between September 2012 and October 2013 in North Yarmouth, New Gloucester and Gray.
Kline was also arrested on Oct. 30 in Falmouth on a charge of domestic violence assault.
Class A felonies are punishable by up to 30 years in prison and $50,000 in fines.
Kline was scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday.
Ben McCanna can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or bmccanna@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @BenMcCanna.
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