Canadian trucker stopped at border faces porn charges

BANGOR – A Canadian resident arrested over the weekend at the Houlton border crossing is facing pornography charges for a second time.

Ross Fairweather, 49, of Courtice, Ontario, was charged Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor with transportation of child pornography and intention to distribute child pornography.

He was convicted in 2003 in Canada for attempting to smuggle child pornography into the United States at the Lake Erie, Ontario, border crossing, according to court documents.

A detention hearing to determine whether he is eligible to be released on bail is set for Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk.

Fairweather, a commercial truck driver who is a citizen of Canada and the United States, was transporting lumber to New York when he was stopped at the Houlton border crossing about 9 p.m. Saturday, according to court documents.

Customs and Border Protection officers allegedly found pornography in the cab of Fairweather’s truck, including two CDs that contained nude pictures of girls between the ages of 11 and 14.

Fairweather said that he had downloaded free images on his parents’ computer. He denied purchasing or selling child pornography, according to court documents.

If convicted on both counts, he faces between five and 20 years in prison.