A man from Topsham, who is currently serving a prison sentence for child sexual assault, has been indicted on federal charges.
A 64-year-old man from Topsham, Henry Eichman, has been indicted on four federal charges related to sexual exploitation of a child. A former director of a youth theater in Topsham has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison for a child sexual abuse conviction in district court.
Eichman is facing new charges for allegedly pressuring four girls to participate in explicit activities in order to create visual content. The alleged abuse reportedly occurred between 2014 and 2016, which coincided with the abuse that led to his conviction in 2018.
The indictment also claims that the abuse included sending materials used to create the explicit depictions through mail or shipping.
If Eichman is convicted, the government plans to seize 10 pieces of technology from him. These items include two computers, six hard drives, and two cameras. The document implies that these may have played a role in the reported instances of abuse being depicted visually.
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Eichman played a key role in the establishment of the Midcoast Youth Theater in 2003, taking on the responsibility of directing shows annually. In addition, he taught drama part-time at Saint John’s Catholic School in Brunswick.
In the fall of 2016, Eichman faced his first indictment, which included 16 counts of sexual abuse of children. This news came as a shock to his neighbors and colleagues in the youth theater community.
As part of the agreement, the district attorney for Sagadahoc County dropped charges related to incidents where Eichman was accused of taking inappropriate photographs and videos of children.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to provide any comment on whether the individuals mentioned in the recent indictment were connected to the group of eight children involved in the 2018 case.