PARIS — A Milton Township man pleaded guilty and was sentenced Tuesday for arson, criminal threatening and domestic violence assault.

Steven Roberts, 47,was charged with attacking his girlfriend, Wendy Povelite, last fall and burning down the house in Rumford where they were living. The house belonged to her father.

Assistant District Attorney Richard Beauchesne said that on Oct. 22, Roberts attacked Povelite and held a knife to her throat. She left him, and he later left messages on her phone threatening to burn down the house.

Dan Young, an investigator for the State Fire Marshal’s Office, said Povelite reported what Roberts said to Maine State Police Trooper Paul Casey.

Beauchesne said a friend of Roberts told police he drove Roberts to the Rumford home before the fire and picked him up afterward. Roberts lit the doormat on fire, which spread to the porch and to the rest of the house.

Police picked Roberts up and charged him with domestic violence. According to Young, while in custody Roberts admitted to setting the fire.

Roberts’ attorney, John Jenness, said his client was an alcoholic who had been sober for years. When he and Povelite broke up, Jenness said, “he chose to reacquaint himself with alcohol.” Jenness said Roberts was intoxicated when he set the fire and hadn’t planned to destroy the house.

Roberts will serve concurrent one-year and 10 month sentences for the criminal threatening and assault charges, respectively, followed by a 20-year sentence for arson, with all but six years suspended, plus four years of probation.

He must also pay restitution, not to exceed $30,000, to Povelite’s parents.

During his probation, Roberts is barred from contacting Povelite or her parents, and possessing or drinking alcohol. He will be subject to random searches during that time and must undergo counseling for his alcohol problem.

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