WINDHAM — An animal control officer and volunteer firefighter was arrested Wednesday after police said they found child pornography on his personal computer.
Joseph Payton, 22, of Casco, was arrested Wednesday afternoon in a camper he shares with his girlfriend on Leach Hill Road, police said.
Payton is the animal control officer in Windham. Police said he has also served as a volunteer firefighter in Casco.
According to a news release from Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland, detectives seized Payton’s computer on which they found photographs and videos of underage children is sexual poses.
Payton was charged with possession of sexually explicit material and taken to the Cumberland County Jail in Portland where he remained Wednesday night.
In online records, Payton was listed as a junior firefighter with the Casco Fire Department between 2005 and 2011. He took over as animal control officer in Windham in 2012.
In a November interview with The Windham Eagle, Payton described himself as a man with two loves: animals and law enforcement. The article stated that Payton would be making an appearance on the show North Woods Law, although it was not clear Wednesday whether that episode has aired.
The case is being investigated by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit.
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