Danbury, Connecticut- A woman who formerly worked as a Newtown High School guidance office intern has been charged by Middlebury police with three sex crimes for alleged sexual contact with male student under age 16.

Middlebury police arrested Jillian Gehrkens, 26, of 807 Longmeadow Road, Middlebury, on a warrant on the evening of August 29, charging her with two counts of second degree sexual assault and one count of risk of injury or impairing the morals of a minor.

Ms Gehrkens was arraigned on the charges August 30 in Waterbury Superior Court. She is scheduled to again appear in court on September 21. She is free on $25,000 bail. A judge has sealed the arrest warrant affidavit, which states the allegations against Ms Gehrkens.

“The alleged incidents most likely originated from a relationship that developed in a school system, where Mrs Gehrkens was employed,” according to a statement issued by Middlebury Police Chief Patrick Bona.

“I can’t make any comment about him or her,” Chief Bona added.

Chief Bona stressed that the arrest does not stem from incidents in the Region 15 school district, which includes Middlebury and Southbury.

Ms Gehrkens allegedly had sexual contact in Middlebury with a 15-year-old male student who attends Newtown High School. Police have withheld the boy’s identity.

Attorney William F. Dow, III, who represents Ms Gehrkens, said August 31, “I have no comment for the newspapers. I intend to make any comments in court.”

Newtown School Superintendent Evan Pitkoff said that based on the suspicion on illicit behavior involving Ms Gehrkens, school officials referred the matter to the state Department of Children and Families (DCF).

After receiving that complaint, DCF referred the matter to Newtown police, said Detective Sergeant Robert Tvardzik. Newtown police investigated the case and on learning that alleged crimes had occurred within Middlebury, turned over the case to Middlebury police, Det Sgt Tvardzik said.

“No charges will be filed in Newtown,” Det Sgt Tvardzik said.

Dr Pitkoff said Ms Gehrkens had worked as a guidance office intern at Newtown High School from January 2004 to January 2005, after which she left that post. While an intern, she was affiliated with Western Connecticut State University in Danbury as a graduate student.

Starting in August 2000, Ms Gehrkens had worked as an applied behavioral analyst, tutoring children in the Newtown school system’s autism program at the elementary school level, Dr Pitkoff said. She worked in that 35-hour-per-week post until August 2003, he added.

At that point, she became a substitute teacher on a per-diem basis and also a substitute part-time analyst for the autism program, he said.

Ms Gehrkens became a guidance office intern in January 2004 connection with her graduate-level studies.

In a case such as Ms Gehrkens’, second degree sexual assault involves a person engaging in sexual intercourse with another person when the victim is at least 13 years old but under 16 years old and when the accused is more than two years older than the victim. Also, in this case, the accused is a school employee and the victim is a student enrolled in a school in which the accused works.

Second-degree sexual assault is a felony in which a conviction carries a mandatory minimum nine-month jail sentence.

The risk of injury charge involves the accused having intimate sexual contact with a child under age 16.