James L. Berke, 46, of Gorham is behind bars this week awaiting sentencing after a judge found him guilty Monday of multiple sex crimes involving children.
Berke faces life in prison. Wednesday, he was being held in Cumberland County Jail without bail.
Gorham Detective Dana Thompson arrested Berke March 23, 2008. The arrest came after an Auburn mother of two girls told police on March 22 the oldest girl said she saw her 7-year-old sister coming out of a bathroom with Berke, who was carrying a digital camera.
The two girls had stayed overnight on March 21 with Berke on New Portland Road. Gorham police said at that time that Berke was a friend of the children’s family.
Executing a search warrant, Gorham police confiscated computers, video equipment and tapes at Berke’s home. Police said Berke had a 19-year-old daughter who wasn’t home at the time. Berke lived a short distance from the Village Elementary School on Robie Street in Gorham.
Thompson, since promoted to sergeant, couldn’t be reached for comment by American Journal deadline.
Court records of the case were unavailable Tuesday. But Tamara Getchell, a spokeswoman for the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, said Tuesday Berke was indicted by a grand jury on June 4 of three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a class A crime; six counts of gross sexual assault, a class A crime; three counts of unlawful sexual contact, a class B crime; and violation of privacy, a class D misdemeanor. The offenses occurred between August 2000 and March 2008.
He was found guilty on all charges. Getchell said the case has been continued for sentencing in a jury-waived trial. The district attorney’s office has not announced the sentence it would recommend. Getchell said the maximum sentence for each count for a class A crime is 30 years imprisonment; up to 10 years for a class B; and less than one year for a class D.
Other Gorham officers involved in Berke’s arrest besides Thompson were Dean Hannon, Ted Hatch and Brian Key.
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