March 29, 2024
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Ex-UM employee pleads innocent to porn charge

BANGOR – A former janitor at the University of Maine has pleaded innocent to a charge of downloading child pornography on the campus.

Kent S. Ellis, 35, of Bangor entered the not guilty plea through his attorney, Joseph Baldacci, on a single count of unlawful possession of sexually explicit material. The plea was entered April 24. Ellis is scheduled to go on trial July 3.

The charge against Ellis capped a five-month investigation by campus police and the Maine Computer Crimes Task Force headquartered in Lewiston, said Chief Noel C. March, director of the UMaine Department of Public Safety.

A computer from the first floor of Stevens Hall was seized and forensic analysis was done on its hard drive after maintenance staff discovered the pornography on the computer, March said. Evidence was extracted that led to the charge.

Ellis is no longer an employee at the university where he had been employed for about six months, according to university officials.

While not considered to be a problem on the campus, March said that the incident shows the university, as a public institution with a population larger than some Maine cities, is not immune to such crimes and the campus is taking steps to curb it.

“At the University of Maine, we count on our partnership with police, staff and students to keep our university community as safe and crime free as possible,” March said. “And this case is another example of that excellent cooperation.”


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