AUGUSTA — A Litchfield man pleaded not guilty Monday to an indictment charging him with two counts of possession of sexually explicit materials of minors under age 12.
Ethan Francine, 29, entered those not guilty pleas to the child pornography charges at his arraignment on Monday at the Capital Judicial Center.
The indictment alleges that he possessed those items Feb. 5 to March 24, 2016, in Litchfield. Each count lists a separate computer data file address, and the maximum penalty for each count is five years in prison.
Francine is free on $1,000 cash bail with conditions banning him from having contact with children under age 16.
A news release from Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland at the time of Francine’s arrest in March said police seized computers from Francine’s home that contained child pornography. He also said Francine worked as a lifeguard at the Bath YMCA pool.
Francine worked part time at the YMCA and is no longer employed there, Executive Director Sabrina Murphy said Monday.
Murphy also stressed that she received no indication from authorities that Francine’s alleged conduct had anything to do with his employment at the Y.
“We do a lot to make sure we protect children and we run background checks on all our employees and check our membership database against the sex offender list,” Murphy said. “So the YMCAs have a lot of policies and procedures in place to ensure children are safe, and that occurred here.”
Francine’s next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 22. He originally was charged in late March with possession of sexually explicit materials of minors and freed on $2,000 cash bail. However, that bail was released in May after the district attorney’s office did not file a complaint against him.
At the time, District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said the case remained under investigation, and she was awaiting a report from the Maine State Police.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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