County treasurer and Bangor school board member arrested on child porn charge
Aug. 3—If you are concerned about a child being neglected or abused, call Maine's 24-hour hotline at 800-452-1999 or 711 to speak with a child protective specialist. Calls may be made anonymously. For more information, visit maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/cw/reporting_abuse.
Police have arrested Penobscot County Treasurer and Bangor School Committee member John Hiatt for the second time in three months, this time on a child pornography charge, according to Bangor police.
The second arrest comes as Hiatt, 38, of Bangor is still facing charges related to his alleged stalking and harassing of a 34-year-old Bangor woman on social media and in text messages sent to her cellphone.
He was initially arrested on May 14 by Bangor police on multiple charges, including a felony. Hiatt was taken to the Penobscot County Jail on Tuesday following his second arrest and bail was set at $5,000 cash, according to Penobscot County District Attorney Marianne Lynch.
Hiatt had at least two computers that police seized as evidence in their initial investigation. One was a laptop owned by Penobscot County to be used for county business. The other was a tablet owned by the Bangor School Department to be used for work by school committee members.
Detective Lt. Brent Beaulieu said Tuesday in announcing Hiatt's most recent arrest that the charge stemmed from the earlier investigation but did not say if police found child pornography on either of the devices.
Hiatt vowed to fight the stalking and harassment charges and declined to resign from either elected position. He said Monday on his Facebook page that he would start his reelection campaign for school committee Wednesday when nomination petitions become available.
His term as county treasurer expires next year. Hiatt also has said he would seek reelection to that position.
Possession of child pornography is a Class C crime.
Hiatt earlier was charged with one count each of aggravated invasion of computer privacy, a Class C crime; stalking, a Class D crime; theft by unauthorized taking and violating a bail condition, both Class E crimes; and two counts of harassment, a Class D crime.
If convicted of either possession of child pornography or felony invasion of privacy, Hiatt faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. Class D crimes carry a maximum one-year term of incarceration and a fine of up to $2,000, and the maximum sentence and fine for a Class E crime are six months in jail and $1,000.
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