ALFRED — A pastor who ran a Christian ministry catering to Biddeford’s homeless and poor has been indicted by a York County grand jury on 31 counts of possession of child pornography.   

James Napier, 61, of 75 Middle Branch Drive, Alfred, was arrested after Maine State Police received a tip about him and confronted him at his home on Aug. 31, 2012. Napier gave them permission to search his home and his computer, where officers found more than 100 images of child pornography, police said.   

Napier was initially charged with a single count of felony possession of explicit material of a child younger than 12 years old, and released on $500 cash bail. The images were of children outside of Maine.   

A grand jury indicted Napier on 29 counts of that same felony charge, each punishable by up to five years in prison, and two additional m i s d e m e a n – or counts of possession of explicit material of a child younger than 16 years old, according to the York County District Attorney’s Office, which released a list of grand jury returns Monday.   

Napier had notified the board of directors of New Beginnings Christian Mission after his arrest, and resigned. At the time of his arrest, Pastor Barry Judd, the board’s chairman, said at a news conference that Napier was devoted to the mission. “The James Napier we knew was very devoted to this mission and had great compassion for this ministry,” Judd said at the time.   

Scott Dolan can be contacted at 791-6304 or at: sdolan@pressherald.com  

Twitter: @scottddolan