BELFAST — A Belfast man was sentenced to four years in prison with all but nine months suspended after pleading guilty to possession of sexually explicit material of a minor under 12 in Waldo County Unified Court June 25. 

Gregory R. Lafortune was arrested and charged with possession of sexually explicit materials following a late January raid on his residence by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit. 

In addition to serving nine months in prison, Lafortune will also serve two years of probation. 

Lafortune reportedly came to police attention after receiving a tip from a social media image sharing site about the possibility that child pornography was being shared. The site filed a complaint with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in September after its own monitoring system discovered child pornography was being sent and received, MSP CCU Detective Glenn Lang said shortly after Lafortune’s arrest. 

In court June 25, Lafortune signed a waiver of indictment in open court, waiving his right to appearance and trial.

Lafortune will have to register on the Sex Offender Registry for 10 years as a Tier I Registrant.

As part of the conditions of his probation, LaFortune will have to complete an evaluation and counseling and treatment as a sex offender. He will also be barred from using the internet and having any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com