KENNEBUNK, Maine — A Kennebunk High School health teacher being investigated on allegations she had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student is adamantly denying those claims, her lawyer says.
Jill Lamontagne, 29, was ordered to have no contact with the 17-year-old student in a protection from abuse order granted in Biddeford District Court on Monday, June 26.
Lamontagne was put on administrative leave when the district first learned about the allegations April 7. She returned to work with “some disciplinary measures” but was put on leave again June 12 after the district learned of the court filing, according to RSU 21 Superintendent Katie Hawes.
Kennebunk Deputy Police Chief Mike Nugent said the department is investigating the case and is not commenting due to the nature and sensitivity and the involvement of a minor. Nugent did not know when the department’s investigation would be complete.
The protection from abuse order was filed by the student’s mother on his behalf. District Court Judge Daniel Driscoll presided over the case on June 26. A motion by the student’s mother to request the case be sealed was denied by Driscoll.
The family of the student did not return requests for comment.
Attorney Kristine C. Hanly is representing Lamontagne. In a statement sent via email, Hanly said her client adamantly denies the allegations.
“Ms. Lamontagne adamantly denies the allegations contained in the complaint filed in the civil matter in Biddeford District Court. Ms. Lamontagne agreed to the no-contact order requested by the mother of the former student simply because she has no reason to have contact with the student,” Hanly said in the statement.
“I would caution against considering as factual any allegation made in the complaint. The complaint was filed in civil court by a third party with no direct knowledge of the veracity of the allegations. 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.”
Court documents filed in Biddeford District Court June 14 state the student was admitted to Maine Medical Center in Portland June 9 for the ingestion of Tylenol, ibuprofen, cold medicine and Warfarin.
Details of the alleged relationship disclosed in the protection from abuse court documents indicate the student revealed to his mother and a nurse at the hospital that he loved Lamontagne and he ingested the medications to attempt suicide.
The court documents state the student said he lied in April when his aunt and mother asked him about the rumor around the school regarding a relationship with Lamontagne, and he denied it. “I lied, it was all true,” the complaint reads.
The complaint states Lamontagne engaged in sex acts a number of times with the student “in the classroom, in her car and at her house.” The student described an occasion when there was a half day of school due to a teacher workshop, and Lamontagne told him to meet her at her house and they “fooled around.”
In the complaint, the student said he loved Lamontagne, and he “wanted the relationship and he can’t believe she used him.”
As part of the protection from abuse order, Lamontagne is not to have any direct or indirect contact with the student and is not allowed on the property or inside the family’s residence for a period of two years.
It is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison for a teacher to engage in sexual contact with someone under age 18 who is in their care.
Hawes said Lamontagne has been a teacher at KHS for five years. She said they became aware of the allegations when the family reported them to the district in early April.
Lamontagne is a graduate of Kennebunk High School, and her father David Mitchell is also employed there as a math teacher. Hawes said Lamontagne has been directed by district officials to have no contact with other teachers during the investigation, with the exception of her father.
Hawes said the district, along with the Kennebunk Police Department and Department of Health and Human Services are continuing to investigate the case. She said the safety of students and staff is a top priority for the district.
“We have followed all appropriate hiring practices, all appropriate fingerprinting and yet these allegations have come up,” Hawes said. “We haven’t completed our investigation, we don’t know if these allegations are true. These are tough allegations. All we can do is make sure we do a thorough investigation and it’s important to make sure that we keep our students safe and our teachers safe.”
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