Teacher of Art for Sproma mountain schools, accused of child sexual exploitation

Jay – an art teacher in the Spruce Mountain regional school system has been accused of sexually exploiting a minor and trying to make the victim destroy evidence, Police Chief Joseph Sage said on Saturday.

Jan Barlow, 47, from Auburn, was arrested on Saturday and is detained without bail at the detention center in Franklin County in Farmington.

Barlow is accused of two offenses of sexual exploitation of a minor, as well as modifying an informant, witness, jury or victim. Each fee wears a maximum of 10 years in prison and up to a fine of $ 20,000.

Jay police started an investigation after Anthony York school resources officer was contacted, Sage said, and later obtained a mandate for Barlow’s residence and evidence collection.

The superintendent of the School District, Scott Albert, said that he placed Barlow on administrative leave on February 27, after receiving a complaint from a parent about an inadequate teacher-student relationship.

“The safety and welfare of our students is our number one concern,” Albert wrote in an e-mail. “I received a complaint of the parents, following the protocol, the person was placed on administrative leave for an investigation on Thursday, February 27.”

Due to the nature of the complaint, the Jay Police, the Department of Health and Human Services of Maine were contacted and the education department tomorrow, wrote Albert.

Barlow was a teacher in the 2010 school system. He is listed as an art teacher at Spruce Mountain High School in Jay on the district site.

Barlow’s date of referral is set for May 6 at the Farmington Court. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance in court on Monday to have a judge to put bail, but he will not be able to enter a reason at that time, because an accusation of crime requires a large jury to move the case in the trial.