KENNEBUNK, Maine — The affidavits filed by police to obtain search warrants of places that authorities say were connected to a possible prostitution operation have been sealed for another few months.
Lt. Anthony Bean Burpee of the Kennebunk Police Department said the affidavits will now be sealed until the end of November. Originally, police had said the documents were to be kept confidential until August or September.
Burpee said investigators sought the extension so that information would not be released that could adversely affect the investigation.
Thus far only one person has been charged in the case — Mark W. Strong, 56, of Thomaston. Strong was arrested July 10 in Thomaston and charged with promotion of prostitution. Both his home and his Strong Agency insurance company office were searched by police as part of the investigation.
The case has been transferred from Biddeford District Court to York County Superior Court in Alfred. The case is one of many on a list for an Oct. 4 docket call, during which scheduling is done.
Police have said that Strong had a significant business and personal connection to illegal acts that were occurring in Kennebunk.
Police also have said more arrests are likely but that the investigation may take several months to complete.
Strong’s attorney Daniel Lilley of Portland has said that Strong was investigating the Kennebunk Police Department’s harassment of his business partner in Kennebunk when Strong was arrested in July. Strong also holds a private investigator’s license.
Promotion of prostitution is a Class D crime which has a maximum potential sentence of 364 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.