A Maine lawyer has been disbarred several months after he was accused of possessing child sexual abuse material.
A Maine Supreme Judicial Court justice ordered that punishment for Thomas Karod, of Camden, on April 7.
Karod was arrested last year on a charge of possession of sexually explicit materials, a class C felony, Maine State Police said in an Aug. 21 news release.
His bail was set at $500 with conditions that he not use the internet or have contact with minors, police said.
The status of his criminal case was unclear Friday.
Dropbox, a service used to share and store electronic files, informed the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in March 2024 that Karod had allegedly uploaded eight sexually explicit videos, according to Justice James Martemucci’s decision on Karod’s disbarment.
That tip was forwarded to state police, and a detective later determined that the files included explicit videos of children under 12, according to Martemucci’s decision.
In May 2024, police executed a search warrant at Karod’s Damariscotta home and seized 11 devices, including smartphones, thumb drives, a tablet and a laptop. The decision says Karod was present during the search but declined to speak with investigators.
A forensic analysis of the devices revealed 18 media files depicting children engaging in sexual acts, according to the decision.
The Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar suspended Karod from practicing law within weeks of his arrest last August. According to the decision, the board began seeking his disbarment in November, but Karod failed to respond to the allegations and did not show up for a board hearing on the matter in December.
The allegations and request for his response were handed to him in person later that month, but he again failed to respond and did not attend subsequent hearings in January and February.
“Lawyers are entrusted to uphold the law and protect vulnerable members of society,” Martemucci wrote. “Criminal conduct involving sexual exploitation of minors violates the profession’s obligation to maintain public trust and confidence. A lawyer’s criminal conduct undermines respect for the rule of law and the integrity of the justice system.”
Karod is allowed to pursue readmission to the bar after five years, but the justice’s decision requires he undergo a forensic evaluation and take part in psychological counseling to do so.
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Drew Johnson can be reached at [email protected].
