A two-time Maine runner-up, a prominent political figure and Democratic Party donor, was released from prison on Saturday on bail following his arrest last week on charges of possession of child pornography.
Eliot Cutler, 75, was arrested by Maine police March 25 at his home in Brooklyn, a police spokesman told Fox News. He is charged with four counts of possession of illegal sexual material by a minor under the age of 12.
He was released on $ 50,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in Hancock County Court on May 3.
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Former Independent Gov. Elliott Cutler is campaigning with his wife, Melanie Cutler, on August 13, 2010, in Topsham, Maine. Maine Police Arrest Cutler for Possession of Child Pornography. (AP Photo / Robert F. Bukaty, Archive)
The warrants were executed at two of Cutler’s homes earlier in the week. The counts correspond to crimes that authorities said Cutler committed from December to March.
Fox News contacted his lawyer.
Cutler is an environmental lawyer who has long been involved in politics, working for Democratic Sen. Edmund Muskie and former President Jimmy Carter. He ran for governor as an independent in 2010 and 2014, using his personal fortune to fund campaigns. Republican Paul LePage won both elections.
The Maine GOP posted on Twitter a list of Democrats to whom Cutler has donated, including President Biden and former President Barack Obama. The party urged officials to return the funds.
Cutler was considered by many to be a spoiler in his first election as governor, as some believed that his offer helped in the election of LePage, WCSH-TV reported. Amid accusations against him, he resigned from the Lerner Foundation’s board last week, the foundation’s executive director, Don Carpenter, told the group’s website.
“We were deeply saddened to learn of the serious allegations made against Eliot Cutler today,” he said. “In his previous role on the Board, Eliot was involved in high-level strategy and governance and had no direct contact with students who participated in grant-funded programming.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
