Former Lebanon man indicted on child porn charges

A former Lebanon man has been indicted on child pornography charges.

Timothy Colwell, 49, who had lived on Knox Lane and sold his house last year, was indicted on a total of eight counts of Possession of Sexually Explicit Materials, or child porn, by a York County grand jury earlier this month.

Colwell had voluntarily surrendered his computer to the Maine Computer Crime Task Force whose forensic investigators found at least eight images of children age 12 and under performing various sex acts, said Task Force Investigator Frank Stepnick. The charges are dated August 2011.

Stepnick said the task force became aware of Colwell’s activity through his use of an online file-sharing network.

Stepnick added there was never any indication any of the images were of local children.

He said once the case was turned over to the York County District Attorneys office, he hadn’t followed it, but thought Colwell may have moved to Florida. Stepnick said it was his belief that Colwell had not yet been arrested.

Colwell’s arraignment on the charges is set for October.

York County Deputy District Attorney Justina McGettigan said she was unable to comment on a pending case.

A Class C felony is punishable by a prison term of up to five years and a $5,000 fine.

An indictment is not an indication of guilty, only that a grand jury has found enough evidence to warrant a trial.