SKOWHEGAN — A Skowhegan man arrested Feb. 20 on child pornography charges has enrolled in a court-ordered tracking program in Somerset County.

Neal G. Teixeira, 30, of MRI Drive was moved from the Kennebec County jail in Augusta and booked at the Somerset County Jail in East Madison on Wednesday. He now must comply with the Somerset County Community Corrections Program, also called the Triple C program.

District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said Teixeira was given a choice: He could pay $500 cash bail and sign a Maine pretrial contract for supervision, or bail would be set at $5,000 cash. He chose the $500 bail and the Maine pretrial option.

The Triple C program is run from the county jail under the direction of Sgt. Teresa Brown of the sheriff’s department.

“The Triple C program does an excellent job with supervising people in the community,” Maloney said. “It cuts down on the expense of housing someone in jail, while keeping the community safe because people have to check in several times a week.”

Dale Lancaster, deputy chief at the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department, said the program is aimed at keeping a close watch on defendants who are nonviolent offenders and who might want to work at their jobs while awaiting trial. It is not for people charged with robbery, domestic violence or other serious violent crimes, he said.

Lancaster said Teixeira will “not only have to check in, but we’ll have the ability to search his home or person to make sure he does not have material he isn’t legally supposed to have.”

There now are 38 participants in the program, which averages 45 people at a time, Lancaster said.

Waterville police arrested Teixeira, who is charged with one count of possession of sexually explicit material of a minor under 12, based on images of children on computer CDs that police said they found while executing search warrants last month. The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Teixeira could face more charges as the investigation continues, Maloney said.

Waterville police said last month that they don’t know whether the images seized by authorities involve local children, but it hasn’t been ruled out.

Doug Harlow can be contacted at 612-2367 or at:

dharlow@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Doug_Harlow