By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Suspected child molester Raymond Samson was ordered held without bail Friday while his lawyer mulls new evidence in the case against him.

The 53-year-old Webster Street man is facing nearly two dozen charges of sexually abusing children after a string of arrests beginning in April.

Last week, he was arrested in Madison, where police said he was prowling a campground where he made contact with kids. Already facing 20 felony counts for similar acts in Lewiston, he had been forbidden to have contact with children under the age of 18.

Investigators said they found photographs of other children when Samson was arrested at the campground. Police said he had gone there in his recreational vehicle, where he was found in the company of a 17-year-old boy.

This week, police with warrants searched Samson’s camper and found more evidence against him. At a bail hearing Friday in Androscoggin County Superior Court, attorney Leonard Sharon asked that he be given more time to go over the latest developments in the case.

Samson, his white hair in stark contrast with the jail orange uniform he wore, said little as he stood before a court justice. The orange prisoner garb signifies that Samson is being held in maximum security, jail officials said.

Samson was ordered returned to the jail until a later hearing, expected to take place next week. Bail of $10,000, which was set after an earlier arrest, was revoked.

It is the third time since April that the 299 Webster St. man has landed behind bars. He is accused of forcing minors to perform sexual acts and taking photographs of them in sexual positions. The charges involve six different victims, stemming from incidents that took place over the past three years.

Samson was arrested in April after a tip led police to his house on Webster Street. While there, investigators seized three computers, several videotapes and printed photographs as evidence. According to court documents, two of the alleged victims were younger than 14.

In June, Samson was arrested again, accused of attempting to falsify evidence by burying lewd photos of children in his backyard. Those photos have since been uncovered by police in Lewiston.

Since April, Samson has been charged with four counts of gross sexual assault, three counts of unlawful sexual contact, six counts of sexual exploitation and one count each of sexual abuse of a minor, visual sexual aggression and unlawful sexual touching. He also was indicted on two counts of possession of sexually explicit material.

Samson’s camper, impounded by police when he was arrested last week, was back at his Webster Street home on Friday.

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