PORTLAND, Maine — Less than 12 hours after a federal appeals court upheld seven of his 13 convictions on possession of child pornography counts, former drug prosecutor James Cameron cut off his ankle bracelet and disappeared last week.

The U.S. Marshals Service issued an arrest warrant for Cameron, 50, formerly of Hallowell, who was convicted of possession of child pornography in August 2010 in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Cameron, who was free on bail pending the outcome of his appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, cut off his court-ordered electronic monitor in the early morning hours of Thursday, Nov. 15, and disappeared, according to a press release issued by the Marshals Service on Monday.

The former drug prosecutor learned on the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 14, that the appellate court had set aside six of his 13 convictions but upheld the rest, according to a declaration of U.S. Probation Officer Mitchell Oswald that was filed in support of the motion to revoke Cameron’s bail and issue the warrant for his arrest.

Before disappearing, Cameron visited his ex-wife and son in Hallowell. She told Bryce Turgeon, the probation officer who supervised Cameron, that her ex-husband was “not doing well” and had told their son he would be returning to prison, the declaration said.

The declaration, motion and warrant were sealed until shortly after noon Monday, according to information on the federal court’s electronic case filing system.

The declaration did not say when Cameron left his home in Maine, but it said the location-monitoring device indicated he had arrived home at 8:05 p.m. Nov. 14. At 12:46 a.m. Nov. 15, the device indicated that Cameron left the residence without permission from his probation officer, according to the declaration. About 1:30 a.m., the device attempted to connect with Cameron’s ankle bracelet to verify he was home but was unable to do so.

Oswald tried to reach Cameron between 7 and 8 a.m. Nov. 15 on his cellphone and landline but got no answer. About 10:30 a.m. that day, Turgeon went to Cameron’s home, according to the court documents.

“Defendant and his vehicle were both gone,” said the motion seeking the warrant. “His cellphone was in the house. The laptop computer that [Turgeon] monitored as a condition of release was also gone.”

Cameron had not used the laptop since 8:33 p.m. Nov. 14, the motion said.

Oswald said in his declaration that the probation office had no previous problems with Cameron’s compliance with his location monitoring. He showed up for all his court appearances and reported as directed to supervising probation officers, according to court documents.

Court documents do not say where Cameron has been living. In February 2010, Cameron divorced his wife, according to court documents filed in his criminal case. She was awarded the house in Hallowell and he was awarded a camp in Rome in the Belgrade Lakes region.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark declined Monday to say where Cameron has been living while his appeal has been pending.

Cameron was last seen in Hallowell driving a tan 1999 Audi A6, with Maine license plate 2333 PL, according to the Marshals Service.

The U.S. marshal for Maine, Noel March, said Monday in a telephone interview that Cameron does not “pose a risk to anyone’s safety or the safety of our communities. We are uncertain of his intentions or state of mind.”

On March 10, 2011, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock sentenced Cameron to 16 years in federal prison after finding him guilty the previous August following a jury-waived trial. Cameron had been held without bail since being convicted.

Woodcock denied several motions asking that Cameron be released on bail pending the outcome of his appeal. On Aug. 9, 2011, the appellate court overruled Woodcock and ordered Cameron released from the federal prison in Littleton, Colo.

His $75,000 unsecured bail, set at his arraignment in February 2009 over the objection of the U.S. attorney’s office, remained in place. Cameron was ordered to surrender his passport and to wear the electronic monitoring bracelet while awaiting the appellate court’s decision.

Unsecured bail means that a defendant does not have to post cash or property at the time bail is imposed. A defendant would only have to post the money or surety if bail were revoked by a judge.

It was unclear Monday whether Cameron would be ordered to come up with $75,000 if apprehended and found to have violated his bail conditions. He has qualified for a court-appointed attorney since March 2010 due to his limited income. It could not be determined if his camp property could be seized because Cameron jumped bail.

Anyone with information on Cameron’s whereabouts if asked to contact the Marshals Service office in Portland at 780-3355 or the the service’s national headquarters at 1-877-WANTED2.

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127 Comments

  1. And when you catch him, this time keep him in jail ! Why is this perv. anymore deserving of special treatment then all the other pervs. out there !?

    Stop mocking justice because of his former position. And perhaps investigate how many he railroaded because they would not let him exploit their children. I’m sure you’ll find one or more rotting away in prison on a false conviction.

    1. It’s common for convicted criminals to be out on bail while thery wait for the appeals process. Look at the story last week about the convicted baby killer. Maybe it only has to do with crimes against children.

    2. Are you assuming he received special treatment due to his former position, or can you cite similar cases that show he was treated differently? As to…”And perhaps investigate how many he railroaded because they would not let him exploit their children.”…that could be the most absurd comment I have ever seen here. I’m trying to imagine how that scenario would play out.

  2. You could not make this stuff up. What is he doing out of jail? Why did they not release this news on Wednesday when he escaped instead of waiting 5 days??

  3. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that he was last seen near Hallowell, Maine, and not Hollowell in Northamptonshire, England. If the latter, he’s quite far out of bounds.

  4. Well clearly those ankle bracelets are an effective deterrent *rolling eyes*…and anyone else, who wasn’t an attorney, would have been in jail pending their appeal…..funny how it works differently for some of us. What a joke our ‘justice system’ is and a bad joke at that.

  5. Too bad it took four days after his disappearance to get this out to the public. If his plan was to leave the state, he’s long gone by now. Especially if he’s been spending his time preparing for this, which wouldn’t be surprising. A former drug prosecutor, sentenced to 16 years in jail on child porn charges (inmates call ’em skinners, and despise them,) is not going to have a fun time in prison. I imagine he’s spent quite a bit of time remembering some of the guys he sent into the very place he was headed.

    Not a good development. Here’s hoping they catch him, and add a few more years for fleeing.

    1. Plus the fact that the powers that be don’t want to keep inmates in PC. They think it’s better for their rehabilitation to be in the General Population in the jail.

      1. Protective custody is alive and well in Maines prison system. If it wern’t you would hear of a lot more killings in the prison.

        1. Just a few months ago the DOC announced that they were going to severely limit the isolation of inmates, PC is a form of isolation.

          1. “Severely limit” isn’t the same thing as “eliminate”. If it’s severely limited, one imagines they’d still be willing to do it in extreme-risk cases. The case of a former drugs prosecutor who’s locked up for sex crimes v. minors would probably qualify. Whether it ought to is another matter entirely, but…

          2. The federal system keeps all the sex offenders, high-level medical care, gang members who have dropped out, and more recently have started adding in inmates with mental health diagnoses together in one of two prisons. So they are basically out of gen pop, but “with their own kind” in a less-restrictive setting. Even these guys have their limit, though. I’m betting if he’s found (alive) he will be in PC for the duration. And let’s hope it’s a long duration at that.

          3. Child pornography is NOT a victimless crime….but the feds have picked it up and have gone overboard with punishment. The federal guidelines are based on numbers of images, with videos counting for so many pictures. The thing is that this man got more time than if he had actually physically molested a child for years. I don’t know what the answer to all this is but it is disheartening to read comments suggesting that keeping people in prison forever is a good thing. He has ruined his life, career and family. I doubt that he will be found in OK shape or even alive. PS If you think this guy got a break because he was an attorney think about the 16 years he got. He got more time BECAUSE he was an attorney and bail pending appeal is not unusual.

          4. I disagree. The feds have not gone overboard with punishment in this case; it is other cases which should also be punished to this extent and more. Whether someone actually physically molests the child or purchases child porn in which the child is forcibly molested and/or raped for the viewing pleasure of the buyer of the porn they should receive as many years as the laws allow. Keeping him in prison and off the streets for life *is* a good thing. These people cannot be reformed. That has been proven time and time again.
            I do feel sympathy for his family, but not for him. I do not care that he ruined his life and career. He has ruined many many lives in his path. I don’t think he got a break sentence-wise because he’s an attorney, but I absolutely believe he got a head-start out the door in one way or another.

          5. I understand that you want to throw everyone in jail forever but actually some people can be reformed and this issue has become just a bit nuts. I say lets go after the airlines that knowingly make billions transporting pedophiles to Thailand. but…enough of that rant…

            This is from the sentencing judge in his assessment of the federal sentencing guidelines in Cameron’s case:

            “Even when other sexual offenses against minors are concerned, a total offense level of 39 is punitive. The actual criminal sexual abuse of a minor under the age of sixteen starts with a base offense level of 18 and a guideline range of 27 to 33 months. U.S.S.G. § 2A3.2(a). Thus, under the guidelines, Mr. Cameron is subject to nearly a ten-fold greater punishment for possessing images of someone else sexually abusing a minor than he would receive if he had committed the actual abuse himself. The guidelines assign the horrific crime of selling or buying a child for use in the production of pornography with a base offense level of 38, a lower level of punishment than Mr. Cameron is currently facing. U.S.S.G. § 2G2.3(a)”…..

            So this law is nuts… And as far as getting a break because he was an attorney…I think not …as the judge stated: “Mr. Cameron‘s position as a high law enforcement official is an aggravating factor. As the top drug prosecutor for the state of Maine, Mr. Cameron‘s criminality casts an unwarranted shadow on the integrity of other public officials and encourages public cynicism.”

          6. That is fine as long as the judge will be held accountable when he does it again. He should have to spend the time in jail with the sicko.

          7. Are you nuts? The judge should go to jail too? These are the guidelines the crazy politicians passed to get your vote. The judge is doing the best he can with an ill-thought out patchwork of legislative meddling in the sentencing arena.. Every time you hear a federal politician wonk-on about getting “tough on crime” you should vote for someone else with great haste.

          8. Pedophiles can not be reformed nor can the ones that view these acts they find on the web. I don’t agree with your arguments. I think this is a travesty that he was released awaiting the appeal ruling – I think that it was only because he was a prosecutor and for only that reason. Any other person convicted of this type of crime wouldn’t be allowed out awaiting their appeal ruling.
            Also – why did it take the police so long to check on him?!

          9. I don’t want to throw everyone in jail forever. I do want to throw pedophiles, the people who make child porn, and their customers in jail forever. That would still leave a whole bunch of people who can be released after serving their time. Again, I would agree that *some* people can be reformed. Pedophiles cannot and should be kept away from society for the rest of their lives.
            It doesn’t bother me in the least that on the face of things Cameron may be getting a “raw deal” in the sentencing guidelines in your opinion. Give him every last day he is entitled to under the law, as far as I’m concerned, and beef up sentences for other perverts like him if you feel the law is unjust for his brand of sexual deviance. I never said he got a break due to his attorney status. I believe strongly however that he had some help from someone in the know who leaked some info to him thus enabling his escape.

          10. I totally agree with your statement. I think that more attention should be paid to updating sentencing guidelines for those who actually molest a child. While possessing child pornography is certainly a despicable crime that needs to be punished, I would rather see those who actually molest children get far more time. I have seen multiple cases where molesters get between 2-3 years and are back out to re-offend in no time. They should be getting 16 years (or more) for ruining an innocent child’s life.

            As a side note: I can imagine Judge Woodcock is going to shove this in the face of the appellate court which allowed Cameron to be free on bail.

            As for Cameron I am sure he is long gone and transitioning into a new life far far away from here. 10 to 1 odds that he is somewhere warm. At least in warm climates you don’t have to worry about freezing to death when you don’t have shelter, which would be my first concern if I were on the run.

          11. The children who are in these porn videos are molested. Should not the customers who pay for the videos to watch them being molested get an equal amount of time? Or is it because they are passively watching a young child molested instead of being physically involved, they should get less time?

          12. Like the the drug user, no ‘demand, no supply’ . It’s people like him who keep the business of child exploitation alive and well. The user, the viewer is just as responsible for it all.

            Most of these children are from impoverished nations sold by their parents to pay off a debt or for survival.

            In the case of this creep, he of all people, in the position he held is terribly scary. Not just because he should have known better. And if we want to get real cynical we could probably say he was allowed to escape because of the network he was a member of.

            Now, let’s really get you going, and let us hope he has run away to commit suicide. How’s that for some new sentencing guidelines. Your choice, prison or the opportunity to go out like a coward.

            Cause if it was Joe Schumck from anywhere Maine he’s not wearing an ankle bracelet after being sentence to 16 years. The appeal would have been behind bars. Just remember this, there are two America’s (and sometimes three) one for them and one for the rest of us.

          13. They are severely limiting “in room” time. (they can beat the crap out of someone, but can’t spend time in their room). PC is just like general population, but separate from them. They have other inmates in a block like them, that need it as well. They still get all the “perks” and are certainly not locked in their rooms. Them ones are just kept away from the general population.

  6. Suppose like in the movies he’s run off to find proof of his innocence? Or like in real life, he’s just admitted to his guilt. I’m going with choice # two.

      1. Yes, I knew there was something odd about the comment. Thanks for your help Entitled4life. Isn’t it nice to be working together instead of at odds?

  7. You’re free on bail awaiting the outcome of an appeal process – then you decide to cut off your monitoring bracelet. Sounds like a great idea!! :/

    1. Read it again. The court upheld 7 of the 13 convictions and the prosecutor made the motion to revoke bail and arrest him. From there his lawyers could try to take it all the way to the supreme court but he would be behind bars during that.

        1. If the federal appeals courts can do anything similar to sealed grand jury indictments I think that would have been the way to go. I don’t know if an appeals court can just issue a “go fetch him” order but I’ve seen people brought into state courts that way – sometimes only because they ignored a subpoena in a civil case.

        1. Definitely a bad idea and I disagree with the authorities statements that he does not pose a safety risk to anyone. If he’s alive, there’s no telling what’s running through his mind.

  8. So, is anyone else wondering how they know he cut his own bracelet off? What if he’s had some “help”?

    1. How much help does a person need to cut a nylon-webbing strap? It’s not like they’re some kind of exotic titanium-vanadium alloy weave or something. This is Maine, they probably got the cheapest ones they could find in the Suspected Felons edition of the Sharper Image catalog.

      1. Ok, let me spell it out: maybe he isn’t just missing or on the run. There are other scenarios that could have happened to him.

        1. Oh, you figure somebody might’ve 86ed him? Well, it’s a theory, I suppose. One wonders why, given that he seems to have been about to… well… not get away with it on appeal, but weirder things have happened.

          1. If so, the polite thing would’ve been to leave the tracker on so the body wouldn’t be as hard to find.

      2. Actually, these bracelets were on clearance at Marden’s…same place we got the Gov. Speaks to the quality right there, doesn’t it?

  9. If not for his former position, I doubt he would have been allowed to be out on bail even pending appeal. Now he has shown how little he respects the system he used to be part of. It is ridiculous that only now, when he has a good head start, that his status as missing is revealed to the public. What a sad and pathetic joke the legal system is.

      1. they all turn out the same, after they are IN a position of exchange , after all they are POLITICIANS, there are far and few between, decent ones!!! Who REALLY care about society in general!!!

    1. I sent an email to the newspaper, asking your question, and will give you the answer to your comment, when I get a reply. and post it here on the BDN thread….

  10. I’d wager he’s killed himself or he’s going to. He’s facing hard prison time and that won’t be good for a former prosecutor and pervert against kids. He knows this.

  11. Any Joe Dokes who got popped for the the same would’ve started serving time immediately and appeal all he wanted to from his cell in MSP. This is that two-tier justice system I heard about, apparently — the rich and cronies get to set home wearing a bracelet on appeal while others go straight to jail. Nothing new.

    My main thought is where does dude suppose he’s going to go now? Nowhere to run to, skinner, nowhere to hide. Might find him in a ravine up Mount Katahdin come spring.

    1. Agreed, special treatment. Better to find him in the spring there than to find him alive roaming some school playground.

  12. I’m willing to bet he drove somewhere and took his life. You have to admit that the man screwed up his unnecessarily.

    1. went to join the Famous Rev Carlson, off the bridge, to join the bottom feeders. I hope they don”t fly the flag at half mask, if his body is found!!

  13. Run Forest, Run! lol. Funny how he was all for the law when it was the other guy going to jail. Now, he is running from it to avoid jail himself. Irony comes in many different packages.

    1. Without a Passport? I doubt it. He’s got nothing left. He’s just a desperate escaped convict at this point. I agree with another poster here, that he’ll probably commit suicide.

        1. Actually, that’s exactly what passports do. Without one, he’s got to cross where there’s no manned border crossing? Through the forest or the desert? Yeah, dough-boy looks real capable of that.

          1. My cousin’s husband has brought more illegal Irish into this country than you can shake a stick at. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

          2. I wonder if that’s a recent change or just not very diligently enforced at some of the crossings out of Maine. Last couple times I’ve been to my dentist in Perth, the Canadians have been perfectly satisfied with my driver’s license; it’s the US Customs people on the way back who want to see a passport or border card, and maybe have a look in the trunk.

            Regardless, I sit corrected. Count up how many times someone admits THAT in an average day on the Internet. :)

          3. He’s had several months to make a plan, though. And probably money socked away to implement it. Hope they get him.

      1. A likely scenario, especially if he panicked and ran rather than had it planned out in advance. Suicide by cop, because he’s too cowardly to do it himself. And not man enough to serve his time.

  14. US Attorney says that “he poses no risk to anyone’s safety or the safety of communities. We are uncertain of his intentions or state of mind”

    Someone explain to me how, they are certain that he poses no risk……..but are uncertain of his state of mind? Now, let me get this straight; he was convicted of having child pornography, 6 of which were thrown out. Now, there’s a convicted sex offender on the loose, and he poses not one little tiny threat….to anyone, or a community? All the while, here’s a man that the federal marshal’s are looking for, but they don’t know his state of mind? Sounds like dangerous to me, desperate people do desperate things, that’s a fact. It’s not normal for a former prosecutor, convicted of a sex offense, to cut the ankle belt and run off, full knowing the consequences of his actions. He’s obviously going to do what’s necessary NOT to go to prison, and the reason why he doesn’t want to go is obvious. He’s put alot of people in the place, where he belongs.

    1. Right. I mentioned my disagreement with that statement in another comment. If he’s alive, I definitely would consider him a risk. As you said, he’s desperate about going to prison. If he’s out for revenge It gets much worse than that.

    2. In their sick and twisted minds, kids don’t matter. He is a huge threat to the innocent and unknowing!

  15. This is why nobody should get special treatment regardless of who they are with a list of charges like this

  16. Let’s recap. He gets convicted and sentenced. He get get no bail based on the trial judge who is over-ruled by an appellate judge who is unfamiliar with the case but likely knew the perv/perp/lawyer. He then, after having his ties to the community removed or likely lost to bail/divorce. So, connections have allowed this guy to go costing us taxpayers even more money to find him or his body. Hope it doesn’t take long. And the moral of this story is . …. don’t trust lawyers who download porn.

  17. He better stay out of Hawaii or else he’ll have Dog the bounty hunter on his butt. Not nearly as bad as Chuck Norris but still.

  18. How many other prisoners that are given a 16 year sentence and have been in prison a year and a half are then let out on bail during the appeal process? If I’m him and and going back to prison to serve 14 1/2 more years at age 50 I’m taking off as well. Hopefully they catch this dirt ball, but why was he out in the first place?

  19. wow. I can’t believe what I just read. The U.S marshall states that James Cameron does not pose a risk to anyones safety. Really? well, I would be willing to bet that many a murderer of children, had child porn in their possession. Who’s to say he doesn’t harm a child before being apprehended? I wouldn’t want to be a helpless child in his path. What does he really have to lose now?

  20. “It was unclear Monday whether Cameron would be ordered to come up with $75,000 if apprehended and found to have violated his bail conditions.”…why on earth would that be unclear?

      1. Um, I think my point was, when you are granted bail, the conditions are explained to you. if you are out on unsecured bail, the condition is the money will need to be sitting in the “bail bank account” should you violate. standard procedure.

  21. Once again, our judicial system looks like a bunch of idiots. I see a trend here and no hopes of getting it fixed. I don’t know how they sleep at night. This is a genuine problem. I guess we can only hope when this sick B***a** attacks a child, it is one of their own. ( I would never wish that on the poor child, just trying to make a point)

  22. This guy downloaded and uploaded illegal pornographic photographs of children on the internet. He was never accused of, or suspected of, having sexually or otherwise abused a child or children himself. So, contrary to what I’ve seen stated here in the comment section, he is not a “skinner” yet. In my opinion he is a pervert, he’s sick, he’s demented, if not a child molester, he’s in training to become one, but he is not a child molester yet, insofar as anyone has been able to determine thus far. Not that the distinction really has any merit, but for the sake of argument.

    Talk about a high price… The man is looking to spend a large portion of the remaining balance of his life in a federal prison for looking at and sharing pictures. The remaining balance of said life will be spent, most likely in abject misery and self-loathing, unemployable, required to register as a sex offender, a social pariah. When we have people convicted ROUTINELY for actually physically molesting multiple children who are sentenced to spend a year or two, maybe even as much as, but no more than, five years in prison.

    Granted, him seeking, possessing and trafficking in child porn is sick, twisted…..beyond my ability to comprehend, but I ask you all; is this the sort of justice we are willing to accept? What about equity in sentencing, what about the fairness principle?

    There is another side to this coin, another argument to be made, in support of the sentence that has been levied in this case, but I’ll let another make that argument in its entirety. But I will say this; there is, in my opinion, little distinction between supporting or advocating the sexual abuse of children by trafficking in child pornography, and the actual physical act of doing so.

    I support the sentence in this case. My argument is intended make people think, make them think about all the people we let off the hook with comparatively “easy” sentences for crimes that I feel are every bit as bad as the ones Cameron committed. Why?

      1. I’m sorry, I don’t understand? I’m not in any sort of hospital, special or otherwise… If you have a question, could you try to clarify it for my interpretation and/or response? Thank you.

          1. Yes, I see where I probably lost people… My mind does not always follow a straight path, I’m sorry, I should have taken more care with how my comment was laid out. I edited it a bit, does it make better sense now?

          2. ANYBODY …that has child porn in their possession convicted or not of any sex act with a child is a PERVERT,… FAIR sentence, you say… well there is only one fair sentence for those perverts, that is LIFE!!! I fell confident that you understand, there is NO rehab for people who had their brains wired wrong, from birth!!

          3. My thoughts on fair sentencing in a case like this, or any other that involves the sexual exploitation and/or abuse of a child are a wee bit harsher than yours I think.

            A rope comes to mind…

            But, that’s a debate for another time. I just wonder sometimes, who thought up the sentencing rules… They don’t appear to make much sense.

  23. Sounds to me like he planned on jumping. Laptop that is missing. Perhaps he was in touch with some underground connections that helped him get out of the country.

  24. So this form of incareation/punishment OBVIOUSLY isn’t working. How about a shock collar around the neck that if they attempt to tamper with it, they get shocked?

  25. He’s out with OJ, Drew Peterson, Phil Spector trying to clear his name. Oh wait. They’re all in prison except Mr. Cameron. The boys in the Warren Country Club are going to just LOVE you; especially the ones you convicted…

  26. its bad enough there are sickos out there walking among us that prey on children–but whats even worst is there are law officials —and men / women of the cloth sworn to protect the innocent and entrusted to rid our streets of such scum which are in fact scum themselves –wolves in sheep’s clothing–May they rot in Hell !

  27. Keep something in mind in these cases. These people do not act alone. They share their sicknesses with others of like mind.

  28. Ordinarily I’d say this was a no-brainer but given that it took them until almost 10 1/2 hours after his monitor went off the first time to go to his residence I’d have to say “CHECK THE DAMN CAMP IN ROME!” Unbelievable! His monitor went off at 12:46am putting him in violation. No one does anything…then the device attempts to connect to the ankle bracelet at 1:30am and again it failed. No one does anything. They try two phone numbers between 7am and 8am and fail to make contact. So, they wait until 10:30am to go look for him! The guy was out on bail. They had the right to go bang on his door at 12:46am when they first got the alarm. Why did they wait until 10:30am?

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