A 30-year-old local woman was arrested and charged with gross sexual assault Friday after Maine State Police alleged that she is linked to a child pornography investigation with international ties.
Julie M. Carr was arrested late Friday evening at her Mountain View Street residence after state police detectives and federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency carried out a search warrant at her home.
State police Detective John Cote said Saturday that state police investigators were contacted by ICE agents who gave details about an ongoing investigation into child pornography on the Internet.
Cote said that ICE agents were contacted by West Midlands Police in the United Kingdom. Law enforcement officials in that country were investigating child sexual abuse when they discovered recorded videos showing a woman committing sexual acts on a young child.
The U.K. investigation revealed that the U.S. was the likely origin of the videos, which Cote said had been recorded from a live webcast. Police discovered that the point of origin likely was in Mars Hill.
According to Cote, state police detectives and ICE agents worked to identify the woman while Aroostook County District Attorney Neale Adams and caseworkers from the state Department of Health and Human Services teamed up with authorities to collect information about the suspect. Information, including a photograph of Carr on file with the Maine Department of Motor Vehicles, reportedly confirmed that the woman in the video from the U.K. was Carr. Police then secured a search warrant for the Carr residence.
Authorities uncovered evidence related to the crime during the search carried out Friday evening. Police gave no details about the evidence that was gathered.
Carr was arrested and taken to the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton where bail was set at $20,000. Her first court appearance was scheduled to occur by videoconference on Monday.
Cote said Carr likely will face further state and federal charges as the investigation continues.
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More Information: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=105867&catid=2
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