Eliot Cutler, the former failed gubernatorial candidate convicted in 2023 for possessing child sex abuse materials, was arrested last night for “possessing pornography,” according to his attorney.
Cutler was arrested for a third time Monday evening after violating his probation conditions, according to Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss. The Maine State Police Special Victim’s Unit found Cutler in a South Portland hotel Monday afternoon while they were investigating unrelated activity, Moss said.
Cutler’s defense attorney, Walter McKee, had not yet seen any police reports of the most recent incident but said Cutler would “in all likelihood” appear at Hancock County’s courthouse Wednesday afternoon.
After consulting with Cutler’s probation officer, Maine State Police transported Cutler to Cumberland County jail.
Cutler, 79, has been arrested for breaking probation three times in the past five months.
A Hancock County judge raised the disgraced gubernatorial candidate’s bail last month and imposed stricter conditions after he allegedly searched online for pornographic materials on Dec. 28 and Jan. 2 from his Brooklin home, according to court documents.
Cutler was accused of violating probation in September 2025 when he visited the website of a San Francisco area massage parlor and completed a questionnaire for his preferences for a sexual escort.
As part of a plea deal in May 2023, Cutler pled guilty to four counts of possessing child sex abuse material. He was accused of saving 142,000 images and videos of child sex abuse on his electronic devices. Nearly 84,000 of those images included children under the age of 12, according to court documents.