A Cumberland County Superior Court judge has sealed documents related to the search of the Portland home of former gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler, who was arrested last week in Brooklin on child pornography charges.
Eliot Cutler, shown during a run for Maine governor in 2014. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
Justice MaryGay Kennedy ordered a seal on the search warrant, police affidavit and a list of items seized from Cutler’s Pine Street home on March 23. Two days after that search, Cutler was arrested at his Brooklin home, and charges – four counts of possessing photographs and/or videos of child sexual abuse or child pornography involving a child under the age of 12 – were filed in Hancock County.
Cutler has not been charged in Cumberland County, but officials said their investigation is ongoing.
Cutler, who ran for governor as an independent in 2010 and 2014, spent the night of March 25 in jail before posting $50,000 bail. He was released the next day, and his first court appearance has been set for May 3.
A Hancock County judge on Monday ordered affidavits dealing with Cutler’s arrest and the searches of his homes sealed, and Justice Kennedy’s order in Cumberland County extends that ban to documents connected to the search of the Portland home.
Cutler’s lawyer had asked for the seal in Hancock County, saying releasing the documents might make it difficult to find an impartial jury if the case goes to trial.
Officials said the investigation of Cutler began in December, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children told Maine State Police investigators that someone in the state had downloaded or uploaded a single illegal image.
Cutler, 75, faces up to five years in prison on each of the four counts if he is convicted.
Cutler, a prominent and wealthy lawyer, narrowly lost the gubernatorial race to Paul LePage in 2010. He finished a distant third when he ran again in 2014.
Several prominent politicians, including Gov. Janet Mills, Sen. Angus King and Rep. Jared Golden, announced this week that they were going to make charitable donations with the money that Cutler had contributed to their campaigns.
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