PORTLAND — Eliot Cutler, the disgraced former Maine gubernatorial candidate, was arrested Monday after Maine State Police happened to run into him and found him in possession of several pornographic DVDs, according to court documents released Wednesday.

Cutler’s probation officer has also submitted a motion to Hancock County Superior Court asking a judge to revoke Cutler’s probation and sentence him to 39 months behind bars “for the protection of the community.”

“Mr. Cutler has demonstrated that he has no intent of following his ordered conditions and is simply searching for ways to circumvent them,” probation officer Sam Payson wrote in a report. “It is obvious that he does not intend to take advantage of probation and treatment, and therefore probation will not be a benefit.”

During a hearing at the Cumberland County Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon, District Court Judge Jed French granted prosecutors’ request to hold Cutler without bail. French also ordered that Cutler is still not allowed to access the internet without permission or possess pornographic material.

Cutler joined the Portland hearing via Zoom from the Cumberland County Jail and pleaded not guilty, telling the judge he denies violating the conditions of his release.

His attorney, Walter McKee, declined to comment on the new allegations Wednesday.

‘I MESSED UP, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS’

According to court paperwork, members of the state police Special Victims Unit were staying at the DoubleTree Hotel in South Portland on Monday evening after conducting unrelated operations in Cumberland County. While at the hotel, one of the officers recognized Cutler, 79, of Brooklin.

Eliot Cutler police narrative 2/11/2026 by Maine Trust For Local News

Investigators reported seeing Cutler carrying a brown paper bag and a stack of DVD cases. Maine State Police Special Agent Jason Bosco said he greeted Cutler and identified himself as a police officer, at which point Cutler hid the items behind his back.

Cutler began crying loudly when Bosco asked him about the items, according to the police reports. Cutler was carrying empty DVD cases with the covers and discs removed, as well as a bag that contained the covers, which portrayed “various nude images of adults engaged in sex acts,” according to the paperwork.

“Mr. Cutler then started to weep and said, ‘Yes I messed up, please don’t do this please, don’t do this,'” Bosco wrote in his report.

Cutler told Bosco that he was attempting to destroy the DVDs, the reports say, and said “he can’t help himself” and “has had this problem for 65 years.”

Cutler was detained after Bosco called Cutler’s probation officer and confirmed that he was not allowed to have pornography. He was later taken to the Cumberland County Jail.

Officers also searched Cutler’s hotel room, where they reported finding 10 more pornographic DVDs and a player connected to the hotel television. They also found a Walmart receipt for the newly purchased DVD player in Cutler’s pocket.

CUTLER’S HISTORY

Cutler was convicted in 2023 for possessing thousands of sexually explicit images of children and sentenced to nine months in jail and six years of probation. He was released from jail two months before his scheduled release date because of “good behavior.”

Since then, he has been accused of violating the terms of his release at least three times. As a part of his new, more stringent bail conditions, he is not allowed to possess pornography.

In September, Cutler was accused of violating the conditions of his probation by allegedly seeking an escort online and having two unauthorized cellphones. He denied those allegations in court months later. A Hancock County judge ordered him at the time to pay $1,000 in bail to stay out of custody.

After paying bail, he was accused of violating those bail conditions on two separate occasions in December and January. He turned himself in to the Hancock County Jail and was released a day later after posting $10,000 cash bail.

Prior to his conviction, Cutler ran twice for Maine governor as an independent. In 2010, he finished a close second to Republican Paul LePage, who won 37.6% of the vote to Cutler’s 35.9% — a difference of less than 10,000 votes.

Cutler sought the Blaine House again in 2014 but that time fell far short, winning just 8.4% of the vote and finishing a distant third behind the incumbent LePage and Democratic challenger Mike Michaud. In the days leading up to that election, Cutler all but dropped out of the race, telling supporters who doubted his chances to instead back LePage or Michaud.

He also worked in Washington, D.C., as an attorney, public servant and co-founder of an environmental law firm. He was disbarred in both New York and Maine following his guilty plea.