VASSALBORO -- A state trooper was sent Saturday morning to a topless doughnut shop on Route 3 after a caller to the Augusta communications center reported that one of the waitresses was outside the shop without a top on.

"I went there and spoke to the owner and the female that was probably involved and I advised them it was going to be turned over to the district attorney for possible review," Trooper Shawn Porter of Troop D Barracks in Gray said later in the day. "Nobody was charged; it's going to be reviewed by the DA's office."

The Grand View Topless Coffee Shop opened Feb. 23, featuring topless waitresses and waiters serving coffee and doughnuts. The Vassalboro Planning Board approved a permit for the business, saying no town regulations prevented it.

Despite objections from some area residents, town government, rather than banning nudity altogether, now is proposing to specifically regulate where, when and how such businesses may operate in town.

There is no mention in published reports if nudity outside the confines of the cafe is prohibited or allowed in Vassalboro.

The Board of Selectmen has approved a revision to earlier drafts of a proposed nudity ordinance, which goes for a final vote at the annual town meeting on June 8.

Trooper Porter said he does not know what the rules are in Vassalboro regarding such matters, but went to Grand View in response to a complaint.

"I just know that I took a report of a female who was outside who had no top on and went over and spoke to them about it and advised them that I was going to be referring it to the DA's office," Porter said. "It's an ongoing investigation."

He said he did not enter the establishment and made sure the woman in question was fully clothed when she and owner Donald Crabtree met with him.

"I instructed one of the males that was outside to go in and ask the female to come outside with a top on," Porter said.

Doug Harlow -- 474-9534 ext. 342

dharlow@centralmaine.com