A man accused of sexually assaulting a dog is also facing federal charges for allegedly sexually exploiting a child.
Christopher Colson, 24, was charged with sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography on Dec. 10 in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor. He was arrested Dec. 11 and released on bond Monday.
He allegedly had hundreds of pictures of a young girl and showed them to at least one person, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in federal court. He is also accused of touching the child’s genitals.
The federal charges follow Colson’s arrest on Sept. 22 when he was charged with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals and a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals in Somerset County Superior Court. He allegedly sexually assaulted a dog that had to be euthanized because of its injuries.
Allegations of Colson sexually assaulting a young girl first came to light in April 2024 when a then 6-year-old said at school that Colson touched her “private areas,” according to the affidavit. During an interview with law enforcement she did not say anything about it.
In October 2024, Colson allegedly showed explicit photos of a woman and a female infant to his employer, the affidavit said. The employer reported it to police.
That person told police that the infant in the pictures is Colson’s sister, the affidavit said. Old Town police gave the case to Bangor, because it was believed Colson lived there at the time. Bangor realized Colson lived in Pittsfield and gave the case to them.
Pittsfield found no crime occurred while Coslon was in the town and sent the case to the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.
The FBI opened an investigation Oct. 3, 2025, into Colson allegedly producing and possessing child sexual abusive material.
Police found three Google accounts for Colson that had hundreds of images of the 6-year-old as a toddler, as well as video calling her by her name, the affidavit said.
Colson lived with the family of the toddler for about six years starting in 2014 and then regularly babysat the child until June 2024, the mother told police. The mom confirmed various pictures from Colson were of the toddler at their home.
The girl recently started to open up about Colson touching her genitals, the mom told police, according to the affidavit.
Colson was granted a $5,000 bail in federal court. Part of his bail conditions include him not being allowed near anyone under the age of 18 and any internet and computer access must be monitored.
Colson must live in a residential group home for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Lewiston, according to his bail conditions. He is not allowed unsupervised interactions with anyone at the home.
Colson was granted a $1,000 bail in the Somerset County case. He was referred for a mental competency examination, according to records.