SKOWHEGAN -- A Fairfield man was arrested this week at the Kennebec County jail in Augusta for Somerset County authorities on eight child-sex charges that allegedly happened over a period of five years.

Richard Potter, 37, of 114 Skowhegan Road, was indicted Nov. 14 by a Somerset County grand jury on five counts of unlawful sexual contact and three counts of gross sexual assault, or rape.

Deputy District Attorney Alan Kelley said the victim was a girl under the age of 14 when the alleged crimes happened.

Potter was ordered held on $75,000 worth of property or $25,000 cash.

The acts are alleged to have occurred in Fairfield between 2001 and 2005.

Kelley said it is common in child-sex case for the victim to remain quiet about what happened until years after the alleged events.

"In these type of cases, in child sexual-abuse cases, it is not unusual for the child not to disclose immediately," he said.

Potter has a court date in Somerset County Superior Court on Dec. 1.