The Kennebunk high school teacher on paid leave during a police investigation into allegations of a sexual relationship with a student had already been under investigation in March for the same alleged misconduct, the school superintendent said.
Jill Lamontagne, 29, of Kennebunk, was placed on leave June 12 when the family of a 17-year-old student notified school authorities that he had had sexual contact with her, said Katie Hawes, superintendent of RSU 21.
On Wednesday, Lamontagne’s attorney, Kristine Hanley, said her client “strenuously denies” the allegations contained in a civil protective order filed by the student’s mother that described how her son admitted to multiple health care providers that he had sexual contact with Lamontagne. The alleged sexual relationship spanned an unspecified period of time, with the meetings taking place in a classroom, at Lamontagne’s home and in her car.
Lamontagne, through her attorney, said her client agreed to the no-contact order. Because of the agreement, there was no hearing where a judge would have heard testimony.
“The complaint was filed in civil court by a third party with no direct knowledge of the veracity of the allegations,” Hanley wrote. “To be clear, Ms. Lamontagne in no way admitted to the allegations by agreeing to a no-contact order. Because the parties agreed to an order without any findings, the Judge heard no testimony and reviewed no evidence, nor did he consider the contents of the complaint when he issued the order. The court merely formalized the parties’ agreement of no-contact without making any findings of fact. These allegations are entirely untested and unproven.”
No one answered the door at Lamontagne’s home on Tuesday, and Hawes said that shortly after she was placed on leave, Lamontagne filed for family medical leave with the district. Family medical leave laws allow an employee to take 12 weeks of leave during a 12-month period with supporting documentation provided by a doctor.
Hawes also said Lamontagne was placed on leave in March related to the same allegations of sexual misconduct with a student.
In March, two students came forward to accuse Lamontagne and the student of having a sexual relationship. Hawes said the alleged victim and Lamontagne both denied the relationship to school administrators, and investigations by the school, Kennebunk Police and the state Department of Health and Human Services were closed.
Lamontagne was returned to the classroom and was subject to unspecified disciplinary measures, Hawes said.
Hawes said the 17-year-old student was a student of Lamontagne’s two school years ago. Lamontagne had most recently helped the boy complete all of his work so that he could graduate.
Details of the alleged relationship were disclosed in the protection from abuse order filed in Biddeford District Court.
The family sought the protection order two days after Lamontagne was placed on leave, and described in court documents how a sudden hospitalization for a suspected suicide attempt led the student to reveal the relationship to a family member, a registered nurse and a psychiatrist.
If Lamontagne is criminally charged, the district would consider terminating her, Hawes said.
It is a class-C felony punishable by up to five years in prison for a teacher or anyone with supervisory authority over children to engage in sexual contact with someone under the age of 18 who is in their care.
The Press Herald is not naming the student because he is the alleged victim of sexual assault.
A 2013 article published online in the Kennebunk High School newspaper said Lamontagne is a graduate of Kennebunk High School, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Maine, and her master’s degree from the University of New England.
In a narrative included in the protection order, the boy was admitted to the emergency room June 9 after taking ibuprofen, Tylenol, cold medicine and warfarin, a blood thinner. A day later, he admitted to his aunt that rumors about him and Lamontagne were true. He had previously denied the relationship.
“He stated it was all true and he was sorry, so sorry for all the bad things he did,” the boy’s mother wrote. “He said he loved her, he said it happened numerous times, in the classroom, at her house, in her car. She told him that she hadn’t had a sexual relationship in two years.”
He also admitted to his mother that he had told two classmates what had happened when he was “wasted,” according to the protection order, but that he shouldn’t have said anything because he didn’t want Lamontagne to go to jail.
He described one day when Lamontagne was attending a workshop after a half-day, and that she instructed him to meet her at her home, which is about 2 miles away, where they “fooled around,” according to the protection order.
Court records indicate Lamontagne is married and has children.
Hawes, the school superintendent, said the district hired Lamontagne five years ago, first as an ed tech and then as a full-time health teacher about four years ago.
Lamontagne passed all legally required background checks, Hawes said. The state Department of Education said Lamontagne holds a health teaching certification, and has a criminal background check is valid until July 2020.
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