The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has upheld the conviction of a Mercer man found guilty of possessing child pornography.

Steven Edwards Contributed photo

In March 2023, a jury found Steven Edwards, 51, guilty of 18 Class C counts of possession of sexually explicit material. The verdict was reached after a trial in Skowhegan overseen by Superior Court Chief Justice Robert Mullen.

Edwards was, in effect, sentenced to three years in prison and 18 years of probation. The sentences handed down for most of the counts were suspended and set to run concurrently with each other, according to court records.

Edwards appealed the conviction to the state’s highest court, and the six-member panel of justices heard oral arguments on May 9, records show.

In August 2019, police found several images containing sexually explicit material of children under the age of 12 on Edwards’ computer while executing a search warrant. Investigators obtained the search warrant based on tips the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children several months prior.

In his appeal filed by attorney Peter J. Cyr, Edwards argued that the trial court should have suppressed evidence obtained from the execution of the search warrant because police had insufficient cause to believe the material was on his computer months after receiving the tips.

The Supreme Judicial Court disagreed, ruling Thursday that the law does not establish a maximum time for information to be considered toward probable cause.

“Edwards’s documented interest in child pornography, his previous conviction for possession of child pornography, and the multiple CyberTips received regarding the same IP address, together with known characteristics of people who access electronic child pornography, all combined to provide probable cause to believe that the material would be there when the warrant was executed,” the high court’s decision stated.

Edwards also argued in his appeal that the trial court was wrong in denying his motion for judgement of acquittal twice during the 2023 trial.

The motion was made on the grounds that the state had insufficient evidence, since the photos were thumbnail images and in “unallocated space” on his computer.

But the Supreme Judicial Court decided the jury could have rationally found Edwards guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, based in part on other evidence prosecutors presented during trial.

In the final aspect of his appeal, Edwards’ attorney argued that the court erred in denying motions for a mistrial and a new trial.

During closing arguments, a prosecutor made a statement that could have been interpreted as referring to other pornographic materials unrelated to the charges brought against Edwards, the Supreme Judicial Court decision says. Edwards’ attorney immediately objected and requested a mistrial; the jury was reminded that closing arguments are not evidence.

The state conceded it made an error, but the high court ultimately ruled “there was no exceptionally prejudicial circumstance or prosecutorial bad faith.” The decision also stated that the clarifying instructions to the jury were sufficient.

Edwards, who has a previous history of convictions related to child pornography and other sexual offenses, is now incarcerated at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, according to state Department of Corrections online records.