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Maine school employee arrested on child pornography charges

Maine school employee arrested on child pornography charges

Photo: clipart.com


BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — An employee of a Maine school district has been arrested and faces child exploitation charges after transmitting obscene material on the internet, police said Friday.

Jesse Kiesel, who works at Biddeford Middle School as an education tech, engaged in an internet chat with an undercover law enforcement officer who was posing as a 13-year-old girl, police said.

Police said the 48-year-old Kiesel steered the conversation toward sexual contact and transmitted obscene images to the undercover officer. Police said they then executed a search warrant at Kiesel’s residence and found numerous images of child pornography on his computer.

Kiesel is scheduled to make an initial court appearance via videoconference on July 12 on charges of possession of child pornography and attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. He could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge.

It was unclear on Friday if Kiesel had hired an attorney. No one answered a reporter’s call to a phone number listed under his name.

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