PARIS — A former Rumford official was sentenced to a month in prison after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing more than 1,000 sexually explicit images of girls under 12. 

Jeremy Vashaw, 41, entered his plea to a felony count of possession of sexually explicit materials in Oxford County Superior Court. 

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped more serious charges of dissemination of sexually explicit materials, which carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and $20,000 fine. 

According to Assistant District Attorney Joseph O’Connor, in 2012 Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit agent Justin Kittredge launched an investigation into online file sharing networks used to distribute electronic files over the Internet. 

Over the span of a year, Kittredge discovered Vashaw uploaded more than 1,000 photos of females between the ages of 6 and 16 engaging in sexually explicit acts, O’Connor said.

After subpoenaing the Internet service provider, police eventually linked the downloads with Vashaw’s computer, he said. 

In December 2013 police got a search warrant of Vashaw’s home, where sexually explicit materials were found on his computer, he said.  

Active-Retired Justice Robert Clifford sentenced Vashaw to 18 months in prison with all but 30 days suspended and two years of probation. The maximum sentence for the charge was five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

According to the terms of his probation, Vashaw will be required to go through counseling and may not have unsupervised contact with females under age 16. He will be allowed to have a computer and other electronic devices, which are subject to random search. 

Vashaw was arrested March 27 and fired from his job as a banquet server at Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry. He had no criminal history.

A Rumford native, he was named to the Finance Committee in 2012 and also served nine years on the Appeals Board in Rumford. He ran for selectman and tax collector but was not elected to either office.

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