WALDOBORO, Maine — A judge lowered bail Monday for an Edgecomb man who worked as a substitute teacher and was accused of sending sexually explicit photographs to a student.
Bail for 52-year-old William Bourget was lowered Monday to $2,500 cash during his initial appearance Monday afternoon via video at West Bath District Court. Judge Joseph Field set the bail at $2,500 cash rather than the originally set $5,000 cash bail that the district attorney’s office had asked to remain.
Bourget was arrested at his home Friday night by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of sexually explicit material.
As part of bail conditions, Bourget is barred from having any unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 years old. He also is barred from having any sexually explicit materials or to have any electronic devices that can use the Internet. He also must enter into a Maine Pretrial Services contract before he can be released.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, Bourget remained at the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.
Bourget had worked as a substitute teacher at both Medomak Valley High School and the adjacent Medomak Middle School in Waldoboro, according to School Administrative District 40 Superintendent Steve Nolan.
Bourget taught a variety of classes including math, science and social studies on an as-needed basis from March 3 through Friday, Nolan said.
The sheriff’s office and Waldoboro police investigated Bourget after a friend of a student reported to school officials about an alleged exchange of sexually explicit images. Police said the student involved is a minor.
Nolan said he was not allowed to talk about individual personnel matters, but he said candidates for substitute teaching are screened through an application process that included a criminal history check.