BANGOR, Maine — Former Bangor school committee member and Penobscot County Treasurer John Hiatt has been arrested again, this time on a child pornography charge.
Hiatt's attorney, Harris Mattson of Silverstein-Law, told NEWS CENTER Maine in an email Friday that Hiatt has resigned from his position with the Bangor School Committee "because he does not wish to present a distraction."
Mattson said Hiatt intends to maintain his position as Penobscot County Treasurer.
According to court documents, Bangor police investigators found child pornography on Hiatt's phone. Officers were searching Hiatt's electronic devices as part of their investigation into previous charges on invasion of computer privacy, stalking, theft by unauthorized taking, and two counts of harassment.
Bangor schools superintendent Jim Tager said both the school department and school committee are following the case closely and are all very concerned about the latest allegations.
"You know, this is a student business, and so I'm concerned about it, and I'm probably not a great sleeper and the safety of our students, faculty, and staff is great to me, so I am having conversations with our attorneys to see what our next steps could or could not be in regarding his standing as a school committee member," Tager said prior to Hiatt's resignation from the Bangor School Committee.
Hiatt is also the Penobscot County Treasurer, a position his lawyer said he intends to keep. Peter Baldacci is one of the county commissioners.
"I am going to be recommending to my fellow commissioners at our next meeting that we ask for the resignation of Mr. Hiatt as county treasurer. I just don't think it's appropriate that he continue in that capacity. He needs to work on his issues and his legal challenges," said Baldacci. "It really is not fair to the public responsibility that he has that he continues, so we are going to ask for his resignation."
Penobscot County Assistant District Attorney Chris Almy said the state takes child pornography cases very seriously.
"The affidavit in this case and the evidence, in this case, will show that this particular defendant had at least one still photo and two videos of a 5-year-old engaged in sexually explicit conduct with an adult male," Almy said.
Hiatt's attorney Karris Mattson argued that evidence was obtained in violation of his client's Fourth Amendment rights: prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures.
Wednesday in court, Hiatt's bail was set at $1,000. He is also not allowed to have any contact with minors and he is not allowed to have access to the internet.
Hiatt will be back in court in October.
If you know of a child who is being abused...you are urged to call Maine's 24-hour hotline at 1-800-452-1999 or your local police department. Remember that calls can always be anonymous.