SKOWHEGAN — In the weeks before the Skowhegan town manager’s recent death, police were investigating allegations that he attempted to solicit sexually explicit images from a teenage girl, sent her explicit images of himself and child sexual abuse material of other girls, and exposed himself to her in a video call, court records show.

Details of the Maine State Police investigation into Nicholas Nadeau are outlined in a probable cause affidavit requesting a search warrant filed in Augusta District Court. 

Investigators executed the warrant at Nadeau’s home on Stobie Street in Winslow this month, records show. They seized several cellphones, computers and other electronic devices, according to court filings.

The warrant indicates police were looking for evidence related to child sexual abuse material, among other related records and items.

Nadeau, 32, died last week in an apparent suicide, according to the state Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

Skowhegan Pollution Control Superintendent Donnie Zaluski, whom the select board named interim town manager Tuesday night, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that town officials only learned of the state police investigation around the time of Nadeau’s death. He said it was neither an internal personnel investigation nor a Skowhegan Police Department investigation.

“The Town will participate in any ongoing investigation as requested and is committed to accountability, safety and respect for all members of the community,” Zaluski said.

Select Board Chair Whitney Cunliffe said in a phone call Wednesday that police Chief David Bucknam notified him of the investigation late Thursday, and that the rest of the board found out the next day. He said town officials did not make any public comments about it at the time because it was a law enforcement investigation and police had not yet said anything about it publicly.

“For the whole town, this is deeply troubling,” Cunliffe said.

Select Board members Kevin Nelson, Ethan Liberty and Elijah Soll declined to comment Wednesday and referred questions to Zaluski and Cunliffe. Select Board member Amber Lambke could not be reached by phone.

Nadeau had not been charged with any crimes, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said in a statement Wednesday. It’s not clear whether he was represented by an attorney during the investigation.

“At the time of his death, the investigation was in its preliminary stages,” Moss said. “During that early phase, investigators identified evidence consistent with sexual exploitation offenses. Due to the death of Nadeau, the case has been closed, and no charges will be filed. Investigative resources will be focused on other active cases.”

Danna Hayes, spokesperson for the Office of the Maine Attorney General, which reviewed the search warrant affidavit, said the case was in an early stage.

“Very little had been decided about who would prosecute since it was still early, so it’s not clear whether we would have taken the lead or the local (district attorney) would have,” Hayes said via email.

Judge Julia G. Pitney authorized the search warrant March 5, records show. Police executed it March 6, Moss said.

Police also executed another search warrant in Skowhegan on Thursday, the day Nadeau died, according to Moss. She declined to answer further questions.

To get a search warrant authorized, a law enforcement officer has to show a judge in a sworn statement that there is probable cause that a search of a specific property would locate evidence related to a crime. It is a lower threshold than the probable cause required for an arrest and the proof beyond a reasonable doubt for a jury to convict someone.

The execution of a search warrant, in more complex criminal cases, represents only a portion of a law enforcement investigation. Some searches and seizures never result in criminal charges.

NADEAU’S DEATH

Town officials announced Nadeau’s death Sunday, and several select board members said they had learned of his death two days prior. Nadeau died last Thursday, several officials said.

Aside from a brief statement shared with staff and residents Sunday, the select board had not released any further information about Nadeau’s death or the investigation until Wednesday. State police also did not release any details of the circumstances of his death, only noting in the statement about their investigation that Nadeau is now deceased.

The medical examiner’s office declined to provide further details beyond its determination that Nadeau died by suicide. Most medical examiner records are confidential. A spokesperson said she was releasing information about Nadeau’s death because he was a public official.

Nadeau had worked for the town for about 10 months. He began his tenure in Skowhegan in an interim capacity while also serving as interim town manager in his hometown of Fairfax, Vermont.

Before that, he had held several jobs in municipal government in Vermont and Maine, including a one-year stint as Blue Hill’s town administrator.

Cunliffe, the chairman, said he was looking into the hiring process the town undertook when it hired Nadeau. On a professional level, Nadeau was doing an “excellent job,” Cunliffe said.

THE INVESTIGATION

The affidavit requesting the search warrant for Nadeau’s home, written by Sgt. Taylor Bagley of the state police Special Victims Unit, references Nadeau’s employment history. Bagley noted Nadeau held several “positions of trust.”

State police investigators were first notified of the allegations about Nadeau on Feb. 18, when they received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Bagley wrote in the affidavit.

The Special Victims Unit, formerly known as the Computer Crimes Unit, functions as the state’s federally funded Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. It regularly receives tips from the national center.

The tip, which had been submitted anonymously on Feb. 10, alleged a man had told a 14-year-old girl via the social media platform Snapchat that he wanted to have various forms of sexual intercourse with her, according to the affidavit. He reportedly first told her he was 17 years old, then said he was in his 20s, and later said he was 31.

The girl who submitted the tip included seven screenshots of the conversation, which showed two photos of the man’s face. One of the photos appeared to be an interview with Nadeau on a newscast from Bangor-based WABI-TV, with the caption, “I made the news again.”

On March 3 and 4, Bagley contacted the girl and learned she is from Florida. Her name is not used in the affidavit and she is identified only as a 14-year-old girl. Bagley wrote he verified her identity with her parents.

She told Bagley she began messaging the account that sent her the messages after doing a “quick add,” which is a form of friend request on the app. 

The girl told Bagley that the man she was messaging requested sexually explicit photos of her, and he sent her sexually explicit photos of himself, the affidavit states. 

She also alleged the man sent her child sexual abuse material of young girls with whom he claimed to have “had relationships with in the past,” Bagley wrote in the affidavit. 

In a video call, the man exposed himself to the girl, and she hung up, she told Bagley.

The girl, at some point, searched WABI on the internet and located a news story featuring Nadeau, which led her to identify him as the man in the photo of the story she had received, according to affidavit. The news clip also listed his role as Skowhegan’s town manager.

She then filed a report with the NCMEC, the affidavit says.

The girl did so “out of fear for the other female children” depicted in the other sexually explicit photos she received while messaging the man on Snapchat.

Bagley wrote that he confirmed Nadeau was associated with the Snapchat account by matching his Maine driver’s license photo to images of the man the girl received, including the screenshot of the WABI clip.

“The Maine State Police recognize the courage of those who come forward in these types of cases,” Moss, the spokesperson, said in a statement. “Their willingness to report these incidents plays an important role in protecting others and helping law enforcement identify and investigate these crimes. Anyone who believes they may have been the victim of a similar incident is encouraged to report it to their local law enforcement agency or through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”

IF YOU NEED HELP

IF YOU or someone you know is in immediate danger, dial 911.

FOR ASSISTANCE during a mental health crisis, call or text 888-568-1112. To call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, call 988 or chat online at 988lifeline.org.

FOR MORE SUPPORT, call the NAMI Maine Help Line at 800-464-5767 or email [email protected].

OTHER Maine resources for mental health, substance use disorder and other issues can be found by calling 211.