WMTW 8 | by Adam Bartow | June 1, 2023
Eliot Cutler will serve a nine month sentence
ELLSWORTH, Maine —
Former Maine gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler reported to jail Thursday morning to start serving a 9-month sentence. He pleaded guilty in May to all four felony counts against him for possession of sexually explicit materials showing children under 12-years-old.
The 76-year-old is serving his sentence at the Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth.
After his release, Cutler will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
He’ll also be on probation for six years, with all internet activity subject to monitoring and all of his electronic devices, email, homes, offices, and vehicles subject to random searches.
Cutler will pay the maximum $5,000 fine to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which tipped Maine State Police to Cutler’s problematic internet activity in late 2021.
At his plea hearing, Cutler apologized.
“I have no excuse, no defense, and no justification for my crime. I only have deeply felt apologies to offer,” Cutler said in addressing the court. “I want to apologize to all the victims both children and their families.”
“That my behavior was the consequence of an addiction is no excuse,” Cutler continued. “I am embarrassed, ashamed, and deeply, deeply sorry.”
During an investigation leading to Cutler’s arrest in March 2022, Maine State Police said they found 83,780 files, downloaded between 2014 and 2021 on Cutler computers and thumb drives – egregious, pornographic images and videos described in court documents – in some cases showing adult men having raping girls as young as four.
Source: Former Maine gubernatorial candidate starts jail sentence (wmtw.com)
