Crime & Safety

Exeter Man Arrested for Child Pornography

William Pothier, an FAA employee, currently on leave, faces six felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse images.

EXETER, NH - A local man was arrested last week after investigators from the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant at his home and allegedly found child pornography on a computer.

William D. Pothier, 55, of Exeter, was arrested on April 1, 2016, and charged with six counts of possession of child sexual abuse images, all felonies.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Exeter Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a New Hampshire Patch police report.

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According to police, the search warrant was issued after “an ongoing operation by undercover police officers, who were investigating the illegal use of computers and alleged possession and distribution of sexual abuse images of young children from within Pothier’s condominium unit.”

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Police requested the search warrant and executed it on March 30. Investigators from Exeter, Hampton, Portsmouth, and the Strafford County Sheriff’s Office, were involved in the search of his home.

Pothier was arrested two days later and arraigned. The Brentwood District Court set his bail at $50,000 cash/surety.

Pothier, police noted, is an aviation safety inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration. He was ordered to surrender his FAA credentials and passports, according to police. The FAA, in an email, stated that Pothier is currently on leave and has no access to FAA facilities.

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