A judge has granted a former Brunswick town councilor’s request to move his trial for allegedly possessing child pornography to another county.

Christopher Watkinson, 44, was charged last year with possession of sexually explicit material of a minor under 12, a Class C felony, and possession of sexually explicit material, a Class D misdemeanor. He pleaded not guilty. He faces up to six years in prison and $7,000 in fines if convicted.

Watkinson recently requested his case be moved to Androscoggin County, claiming media coverage of his case made it impossible for him to get a fair trial in Cumberland County. State prosecutors did not object and Judge Maria Woodman last week approved the venue change.

William Bly, Watkinson’s lawyer, said in court earlier this year Watkinson clicked an internet link in June 2021 and was “shocked” when sexually explicit images of a young girl appeared. He downloaded and emailed three images to himself with the intention of turning them into police, according to Bly. Yahoo reported the images to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, prompting Maine State Police to execute a search warrant at Watkinson’s home, where agents confiscated 21 electronic devices, including some belonging to his family members.

Bly said Watkinson did not turn over the images to police because he was supporting a relative who had a heart attack.

“People still don’t know the full story and won’t know the full story until or unless this case has to go to trial,” Bly told The Times Record earlier this year. “We’re confident in Chris’ innocence.

“The media coverage of the accusations against Mr. Watkinson … has been extensive, pervasive, immediate, intense and invidious.”

Following his indictment, Watkinson resigned from the Town Council and was placed on leave from his job as a technical director and music lecturer at Bowdoin College. He is no longer employed at the school.

Watkinson has been free on personal recognizance bond, with the condition he have no unsupervised contact with children below the age of 10 aside from his own children.

Watkinson was elected District 5 councilor in 2017 and reelected in 2020. He had been active in local school issues, organizing a petition against a school board proposal to address overcrowding by moving fifth graders to the junior high school and campaigning for the replacement of the Coffin School.

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