Former Maine educator sentenced for having child pornography

By Adam Bartow

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    PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) — A former ed tech at Biddeford Middle School will spend nearly four years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing child sexual abuse materials.

Jesse Kiesel, 49, was sentenced in federal court in Portland Thursday to 44 months in prison. He must also pay $7,500 in assessments and $4,000 in restitution. He had faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Kiesel pleaded guilty on July 21, 2022.

According to court documents, in April 2021, Kiesel chatted online with an undercover member of law enforcement who was posing as a 13-year-old girl. During the chat, Kiesel started talking about sex and sexual contact and ultimately sent lewd pictures of himself to the undercover officer.

When police searched his home, they found numerous sexually explicit images of minors on his computer.

At the time of his arrest, Kiesel was working as an Ed Tech II at Biddeford Middle School.

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