A two-time candidate for Maine governor who’s now a convicted sex offender has once again been accused of violating his probation.
According to a copy of a court complaint, 79-year-old Eliot Cutler was charged Monday with two counts of violating his conditions of release.
In 2023, Cutler was convicted of possession of sexually explicit material of a minor under 12. Prosecutors said he possessed 80,000 images of children being sexually assaulted.
He was sentenced to four years, with only nine months to be served in the Hancock County Jail. He spent about eight months in jail before being released for good behavior last year.
Cutler completed roughly one-third of his six years of probation.
Cutler allegedly violated terms of his release for a second time on Dec. 28 and Jan. 2 in Brooklin.
The state has asked a judge that attachments to the complaint, in the form of screenshot images of video, be impounded and sealed. According to court documents, the attachments include sexually explicit images and raise concerns about privacy and the possible involvement of a minor victim.
Cutler was also accused of violating his probation on Oct. 2, 2025, by accessing sexually explicit material online and using unmonitored devices. His internet usage is monitored as part of his probation conditions.
According to court documents, Cutler visited the website of a massage parlor in the San Francisco area and answered questions about his preferences in an escort, including her race, age, and other more explicit details.
The court paperwork says Cutler timed the request to coincide with a trip to California, claiming he wanted to see elderly friends.
Cutler turned over two phones to a probation officer, and an analysis didn’t find anything, according to the Bangor Daily News, but it found the phones were reset.
Cutler pleaded not guilty to violating his conditions of release in December 2025.
Cutler ran for governor of Maine in 2010 and 2014 and came within a few thousand votes of winning in 2010.