PORTLAND, Maine — A former SAD 55 employee is facing felony sex charges, after court documents say he had sex with a 16-year-old student and got her pregnant.
Zachariah Sherburne was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on charges of gross sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor.
According to the affidavit, the 23-year-old was an ed tech at Sacopee Valley High School and confessed to police once he knew administrators were investigating.
According to court documents, Sherburne sought out Oxford County authorities on March 11 to report his own inappropriate behavior.
In a police affidavit, Sherburne told detectives he befriended one of his students at school, and began seeing her off campus.
According to court documents, the pair was watching TV at the Kezar Falls Fire Department on Feb. 12, when they started kissing and went on to have sex two or three times. They spent the night there, and in the morning, Sherburne told police he apologized to the girl and said it couldn’t happen again.
Citing it as a personnel matter, Superintendent Carl Langly said any allegations would have been investigated and reported to the appropriate agencies.
School board minutes posted on the district’s website show Sherburne’s resignation was accepted at the March 2 meeting; but on court paperwork, he lists his last place of employment as SAD 6, effective March 10.
His father, Frank Sherburne, is superintendent of that district. On its website, SAD 6 includes a policy against nepotism: “Not to employ any person who is a member of the family of a board member or the superintendent, barring two extraordinary circumstances.”
Frank Sherburne would not answer questions from CBS 13 on Thursday.
The school board chair said they do not approve all hires, only certain staff such as teachers and administrators.
It’s unclear when Zachariah Sherburne was hired by SAD 6 and what position he held.
Zachariah Sherburne’s attorney released a statement.
“Zachariah Sherburne had no instructional, supervisory or disciplinary position as it related to the alleged victim. His role was as a one-on-one ed tech with a completely different student. The state’s case ultimately will fail,” Allan Lobozzo said.
Sherburne has been out on bail since mid-March. He is living in Massachusetts, and is due to appear in court in Bridgton in June.