A Gardiner man has been charged with sexually assaulting a young child and having what police say is a “large amount” of child pornography.

Christian Cooper, 21, of Elm Street, was arrested by the State Police Computer Crimes Unit Wednesday, according to a press release from Steve McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.

Cooper was charged with gross sexual assault of a young child and possessiong sexually explict materials of someone under the age of 12. The charges came after police searched Cooper’s apartment on Elm Street Wednesday, McCausland said, and found “a large quantity of child porn images on his computers and other electronic storage devices.”

A forensic exam of Cooper’s computers will determine if Cooper took photos of that assault, McCausland said.

Cooper is now being held without bail at the Kennebec County Jail.


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