Maine Teacher Accused of Sex With Student Found Not Guilty of Sexual Assault

A Maine teacher who allegedly had a sexual relationship with a student has been found not guilty of sexual assault.

Jill Lamontagne, who taught at Kennebunk High School, was on trial for 14 charges, including gross sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor. According to the Press Herald, a jury found Lamontagne not guilty on all counts.

Lamontagne was accused of sexually assaulting a student who was 17 at the time. The jury deliberated for under two hours.

The alleged victim told jurors he was getting extra help from the health teacher because he was at risk of not graduating. He said their relationship started innocently.

"Things became more personal between us, I guess, and then escalated to sexual," he told the jury Tuesday.

He said Lamontagne, who was 29 at the time, requested the student's SnapChat name, texted and called him. He claims the two would kiss, hug, and eventually had oral sex in the classroom closet three times. He said he also went to Lamontagne's home on two occasions.

When the sexual encounters escalated, the alleged victim said Lamontagne told him they could not have intercourse until after he graduated.

"We would often discuss how much we loved each other," the 19-year-old alleged victim told jurors, adding that they planned to have a "real relationship" after he was done with school.

Toward the end of the school year, he said he was feeling distraught about his future and their relationship, and he attempted suicide.

Detectives who analyzed the alleged victim's cell phone testified that there were 86 phone calls and 94 text messages to and from Lamontagne's phone number during that same five-month period.

One text said "I can't stop thinking about you," according to Saco Police Detective Fred Williams. On the day the alleged victim attempted suicide, a text from Lamontagne's phone read "Will you call me and talk?" and another stated "Can't stop thinking about you."

Kennebunk Police Detective Steve Borst, who also examined the cell phone data, said Lamontagne's number sent a text to the alleged victim that contained a screenshot of a music player, playing the song "Who I Am With You" by Chris Young.

"Listen to the lyrics," the text read. Jurors listened to the song Tuesday, which contain lyrics such as "Who I am with you is who I really wanna be / You're so good to me ... You're the best part of who I am."

Caleb Shields, the alleged victim's best friend, also testified Tuesday. He was a student at Kennebunk High School, and said Lamontagne once called his cell phone number looking for the alleged victim.

"She wanted to know if he was with me, if he was alright, and if I would tell him that she loved him," Shields testified.

Lamontagne's lawyer has called the allegations against her "pure fantasy." He questioned the alleged victim's timeline of events and pointed out that he initially denied having a relationship with Lamontagne when school officials first investigated the rumor.

Lamontagne's lawyer said she was dedicated teacher, working her "dream job" and would not risk her career and reputation "to have [oral sex] with a 17-year-old at 7:30 in the morning in her classroom."

The alleged victim testified that he has retained an attorney to have the option of suing the school district and Lamontagne.