Hancock County probate judge held in contempt for 4th time

by Sabrina Martin 

Hancock County’s probate judge faced his fourth contempt order on Tuesday, risking a 90-day jail sentence, after failing again to pay child support to his ex-wife.Report Ad

William Blaisdell IV was given until 6 p.m. April 28 to pay $8,396 to his ex-wife in overdue child support payments. If he paid the full amount, Blaisdell could forego jail time, according to the Waldo County District Court contempt order.

Blaisdell, who has been representing himself in his divorce, paid $8,396 by Tuesday evening’s deadline to forgo jail time, according to Christopher MacLean, the lawyer for Blaisdell’s ex-wife.

He did not, however, pay an additional $8,304 in fines and attorney fees, MacLean said. Because those payments related to more recent court orders and not the $8,396 he already owed, Blaisdell couldn’t be jailed Tuesday for failing to pay them, though he could end up facing yet another contempt order because of it, MacLean said. 

Maine District Judge John Martin said the contempt order will remain in effect until June 30, 2029, noting Blaisdell’s “ongoing pattern of willful disobedience of court orders,” according to court documents. Blaisdell’s divorce is being handled in Waldo County because of his connections with the legal and justice system in Hancock County, where he has long had his own law practice.

Blaisdell, who faced an arrest warrant last month after he missed a contempt hearing, turned himself in at the Hancock County jail in mid-March. He was later released after posting $16,929 bail — the amount of child support he owed at the time.

“His selective payment of obligations, while ignoring court-ordered support, demonstrates an intentional prioritization of his own preferences over his legal obligations,” the April 28 contempt order says. “This conduct constitutes not mere neglect, but a knowing and ongoing defiance of the Court’s orders.”

Blaisdell is still listed on Hancock County’s official website as the county’s elected probate judge, though he’s been suspended both from practicing law and from serving on the bench. In his absence, Hancock County’s probate cases have been overseen by other part-time judges from nearby counties.

He has faced four contempt orders stemming from his 2019 divorce.

In early April, a Waldo County judge found that Blaisdell perjured himself during sworn testimony about his finances. Blaisdell testified in October 2025 that his depleted brokerage accounts left him unable to pay child support, though his financial statements later showed he had more than $510,000 in savings.

Waldo County’s top prosecutor Natasha Irving said earlier this month her office was at the “very beginning stages” of reviewing the case. If Blaisdell is charged and then convicted of criminal perjury, he could face up to 5 years of incarceration and a $5,000 fine.

Full Article & Source:
Hancock County probate judge held in contempt for 4th time 

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Waldo County Prosecutor Considers Charging Hancock County Probate Judge with Perjury

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Waldo County Prosecutor Considers Charging Hancock County Probate Judge with Perjury

by Sabrina Martin/BDN

HANCOCK COUNTY—Waldo County’s top prosecutor may charge Hancock County’s suspended probate judge with criminal perjury after he lied under oath in October.

Earlier this month, a Waldo County judge found that William B. Blaisdell IV, who has faced multiple contempt hearings over overdue child support payments to his ex-wife, perjured himself during his sworn testimony about his finances, according to court documents.

Natasha Irving — district attorney for Waldo, Knox, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties — said her office is at the “very beginning stages” of reviewing the case. Irving said she was in contact with the Attorney General’s Office, who oversees child support matters through the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Blaisdell’s divorce is being handled in Waldo County because of his role as a probate judge in Hancock County.

If Irving’s office does prosecute Blaisdell, he would be facing his first criminal charge; all of his divorce proceedings have been civil matters.

Criminal perjury, a charge brought by a prosecutor, carries a higher burden of proof than a family court factual finding: prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person knowingly lied under oath.

Perjury is a Class C felony and is punishable by up to five years of incarceration and a $5,000 fine.

Blaisdell, who has been suspended both from practicing law as an attorney and from his part-time job as Hancock County’s probate judge, faced an arrest warrant last month after failing to appear in a Belfast court. He later turned himself in at the Hancock County Jail and posted $16,929 bail, which was the amount of child support he owed.

A Waldo County judge wrote on April 2 that Blaisdell committed perjury when he testified on Oct. 29, 2025, about his depleted brokerage accounts, which he claimed left him unable to pay child support.

Just two days after his sworn testimony, Blaisdell, under a court order, provided his ex-wife’s lawyer with copies of his financial statements, showing he had $166,291 in his Charles Schwab brokerage account and $344,080 in a separate IRA account, according to court documents.

The court found that Blaisdell’s perjured testimony was “an attempt to avoid a suspended thirty-day jail sentence” for being found in contempt of court for not complying with the court’s child support orders.

The court said Blaisdell had a “history of noncompliance,” a “pattern of satisfying outstanding obligations only at the last moment to avoid jail sanctions” and has made “continued attempts to manipulate the Court,” according to an order on the court’s findings.

Full Article & Source:
Waldo County Prosecutor Considers Charging Hancock County Probate Judge with Perjury