Maine Man Sentenced for Child Exploitation Offense

PORTLAND, Maine: A Maine man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for possessing child sex abuse materials.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Steven W. Freeman, 47, to 20 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Freeman pleaded guilty on June 12, 2025.

According to court records, in July 2024, federal and state law enforcement officers executed search warrants following reports that Freeman had possessed child sexual abuse material. Investigators seized Freeman's cellular telephone and a forensic examination of that phone revealed hundreds of child sexual abuse images. Freeman has a previous conviction in Sagadahoc County in 2003 for gross sexual assault.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office investigated the case.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child sexual abuse material: Child sexual abuse material - referred to in legal terms as "child pornography" - captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims' exploitation and abuse, and they suffer revictimization every time the images are viewed. In 2023, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 36 million reports of the possession, manufacture, or distribution of child sexual abuse materials. To file a report with NCMEC, go to https://report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-843-5678. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.

Project Safe Childhood: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.

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