BIDDEFORD, Maine — Dean Trefethen, the former Laconia city planner, has been arrested and charged with possessing images depicting sexual assaults on children. His arrest marks the end of an investigation that began 11 months ago when he was escorted out of Laconia City Hall.
Trefethen, 70, resides in Sanford, Maine, and was arrested by police there on March 5. He was released on $2,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at the York Judicial Center on Thursday, May 30.
An affidavit, prepared by Sanford police and on file at the York Judicial Center, describes how the case against Trefethen developed. According to the affidavit, which was signed by Samuel Bennett of Sanford police, Laconia police Det. Jonathan Howe first alerted police in Sanford about possible criminal activity on April 27, 2023, when the city’s anti-virus software brought attention to Trefethen’s laptop. While addressing the problem, the IT department learned an unauthorized drive had been attached to the computer, which violated the city’s policy for acceptable use of work equipment. When the worker opened the drive, they saw image files with explicit names.
The city’s IT worker did not view the files, but suspected the drive was located at Trefethen’s residence based on the name of the Wi-Fi network it was accessing.
Howe used that information to obtain a search warrant in Laconia to remotely review and preserve the files. The files included photos of nude children’s bodies, as well as apparent sexual assaults of children estimated at 5 years old.
Sanford police then obtained a warrant to search Trefethen’s home. Seized as evidence were multiple devices, including a computer, flash drives and cell phone.
While this search was occurring, Trefethen returned home after resigning from his role in Laconia, and consented to be interviewed at the Sanford Police Department. During the interview he indicated, according to the affidavit, he was aware of the presence of the images Howe discovered, and told Sanford police they would find similar images on his flash drives and computer. Indeed they did.
Trefethen is facing one charge of “possession of sexually explicit material,” a Class C offense in Maine, which, if convicted, could bring a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of $5,000.
Attorney John Webb, who is representing Trefethen, noted his client has been helpful during the investigation.
"We’ve cooperated with the Sanford Police Department, we have turned ourselves in when they asked us to turn ourselves in," Webb said. "We haven’t seen any evidence in the case, when we get the evidence we will evaluate the evidence and decide where to go from there."
Laconia police Chief Matt Canfield said no charges were expected to be filed in Laconia.
Kirk Beattie, Laconia city manager, issued the following statement when asked for comment:
“On April 27, 2023, the City of Laconia became aware of an allegation against Mr. Trefethen. The City’s legal counsel was contacted for guidance and the matter was immediately referred to the Laconia Police Department for investigation.
“At the outset of the investigation, Mr. Trefethen resigned his position with the City.
“At this time, the City of Laconia cannot make any further statements regarding the pending criminal case.”
Laconia Mayor Andrew Hosmer declined to comment.
(1) comment
Laconia's government made up of the best and brightest
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.