A Milford firefighter who pleaded guilty to beating his baby ten years ago has won a seat on the town’s school board.
Morgan Gunnell, who, received seven write-in votes, said he ran on a lark. And lo and behold, he won.
“I wrote my name in as a joke. Kind of like how people write in Mickey Mouse for the president sometimes,” Gunnell said.
By the time vote tallying was finished, the joke was up. Gunnell had won and said he would take the position seriously.
He was one of 16 residents across Milford to receive at least one write-in vote from the 107 voters that showed up to the polls.
The runner-up received five votes.
In 2015, Gunnell pleaded guilty to an assault charge after a grand jury found that he knowingly or recklessly caused bodily injury or offensive physical contact to his infant son.
Gunnell entered an Alford plea, meaning he maintained that he was innocent but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him.
On May 7, 2015 Gunnell, then 24, called 911 from his camper home in Bangor and reported his son was unresponsive.
The child was then taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center, according to police records.
Later on, doctors discovered bruising on the baby’s brain from several separate instances of trauma, leading authorities to suspect abuse.
Despite the conviction, Gunnell, who has since been a Milford firefighter seven years, said he’s built up trust in the town by working as a first responder and doesn’t see why people would be uncomfortable with him serving on the School Committee.
“I don’t think there’s any reason that anyone can’t trust me. They can choose whether they want to or not. But I stand on my service to the town,” he said. “What they’re uncomfortable with is whatever they may be uncomfortable with. They can make that decision on their own.”
