Biddeford Middle School Employee Arrested and Charged with Child Exploitation Offenses

PORTLAND, Maine: A Biddeford man was arrested and charged by criminal complaint today with possession of child pornography and attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor, Acting U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark announced.

According to court documents, in April 2021, Jesse Kiesel, 48, engaged in an internet chat with an undercover member of law enforcement posing as a 13-year-old girl. During the chat, Kiesel steered the conversation towards the topics of sex and sexual contact, and ultimately transmitted images of his erect penis to the undercover officer. Following the execution of a search warrant at Kiesel’s residence, numerous images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct were recovered from his computer.

Also according to court documents, Kiesel is an employee of Biddeford Middle School with the job title of Ed Tech II.

If convicted, Kiesel faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Kiesel will make an initial appearance via videoconference on July 12 at 2:00 p.m.

Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case, with assistance from the Biddeford Police Department, the Newbury, Massachusetts Police Department and the United States Marshals Service.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.