Ex-governor candidate pleads guilty to child porn charges

By DAVID SHARP
Associated Pres.

ELLSWORTH, Maine (AP) — An attorney who used his personal wealth to bankroll two unsuccessful runs for governor has pleaded guilty to possession of thousands of images of child sexual abuse. Eliot Cutler, who narrowly lost in 2010, pleaded guilty to a judge Thursday. A plea agreement calls for the 76-year-old Cutler to serve nine months in jail for four counts of possessing sexually explicit material of a child under 12. It marked a remarkable fall for a man who once served as energy and environmental adviser to then-President Jimmy Carter and launched a powerful environmental law firm in Washington, D.C.