A part-time employee of SAD 61 has been arrested and charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault on a 15-year-old female student.

Troy Owen Smith, 22, of 16 Ward Acres in Bridgton was arrested on April 1, and transported to the Cumberland County Jail by Cumberland County Sheriff’s Detective Brian Ackerman. Bail was posted in the amount of $100,000 property and Smith was released.

Smith could not be reached for comment.

Because of the age of the student, police and the school officials are not releasing the girl’s identity. School authorities declined to give further details about the alleged assaults.

According to Lt. Donald Foss of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department, a concerned friend of the victim alerted Guy Stickney, assistant principal at Lake Region High School, to the incidents. The school then notified the Sheriff’s Department and the investigation quickly gained momentum.

High School Principal Roger Lowell declined to comment, but did confirm that the names of the three football coaches at the school included Assistant Coach Troy Smith. Smith apparently worked at the school from August through November for the past three seasons. Smith’s only recent connection to the high school was with the football program.

The charges will now go to grand jury for consideration. It is expected that Smith will be tried on the class C felony charges.

A class A felony would be appropriate if the victim were under the age of 14, according to state statutes. Class B felonies are used in cases where the suspect may have had sex with a person with an impairment (drunk or drugged), under a threat, a disability, unconscious state or a custody situation. The class C felony, which is being used in this case, is charged when the victim is under the age of 18 and the suspect is an educator, or affiliated with a school in some way.

The penalty for a person convicted of a class C gross sexual assault is imprisonment not to exceed five years for each conviction.

Smith does not have a previous criminal record.

The Sheriff’s Department is still in the early stages of the investigation, and requests that anyone with information regarding this case contact Detective Ackerman at 774-1444, extension 2215.