Shuttered Howland contractor faces abuse claims
The Howland man who abruptly closed his contracting business last week, leaving dozens of customers without services they had paid for, had a protection of abuse order against him upheld by Maine's top court on Tuesday.
The Portland Press Herald reported that Dave C. Ireland Jr., who had been receiving customer referrals from Summit Natural Gas of Maine, had the protection order initially approved against him by the Presque Isle District Court in 2012, following accusations that he sexually assaulted a female relative under the age of 10.
Ireland had been attempting to challenge the protection order but was unsuccessful when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday upheld the lower court's decision.
The protection order is not an indication that someone is guilty of a crime, the newspaper said. Instead, it means the court found reason to order an alleged abuser to keep away from an alleged victim.
Ireland has not commented on the closure of his business, or the protection order. However, a former coworker said he had been having financial issues.
Ireland had been running his contracting business as Dave Ireland Builders, which had received customer referrals from Summit for residents in Cumberland, Falmouth and Yarmouth. After his business abruptly closed last week, some Cumberland town officials and residents began questioning Summit’s connection to Ireland.
A Summit official said customers who lost money from Ireland should contact its Augusta office. He did not explain why Summit had been promoting the contractor or whether his company knew about the contractor’s financial difficulties.
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Howland natural gas contractor abruptly closes
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