Teacher acquitted of sex with a teen, 17, now works at a diner and is seeing a trauma counselor

The former high school health teacher recently acquitted of having sex with a 17-year-old student has revealed that she now works in a diner and sees a trauma counselor to help with the stress of her ordeal. 

Jill Lamontagne, 30, resigned from her five-year post as a health teacher at Kennebunk High School in Kennebunk, Maine, in 2017, after being accused of having sex with a then 17-year-old student who she had been giving homework help to so that he could graduate. 

Now 19, the student testified at Lamontagne’s trial that they had participated in the sex acts at the school and in her home. Lamontagne denied all the charges.

Lamontagne said that she is now working at a diner and seeing a trauma counselor to help deal with the stress of her experience

After being found not guilty of having sex with an underage, former student, Jill Lamontagne, 30, said that she is now working at a diner and seeing a trauma counselor

Lamontagne said that she has been spending time with her husband, Steve, and two children, while also jotting down notes about her experience which she is hoping to turn into a book

Lamontagne said that she has been spending time with her husband, Steve, and two children, while also jotting down notes about her experience which she is hoping to turn into a book

She was found not guilty of all charges after a two-hour jury deliberation in July.  

Lamontagne told the Press Herald that since the trial ended, she has been working at a diner and spending time with her husband, Steve, and two young children, ages four and five. 

She said that she has also been handling calls from media organizations and taking notes for a book about her experience that she is contemplating writing.

Lamontagne said that she began seeing a trauma counselor to help her deal with the stress of the accusation and continues to do so, despite the acquittal.   

‘I don’t get my job back, (attorney) fees back, the old version of me back,’ Lamontagne told the newspaper about the aftermath of the trial. ‘I don’t get rid of the trauma. I’m innocent, that’s it.’

Lamontagne was accused of having sex with a former student in October 2017

After a two-hour jury deliberation, she was acquitted of all charges in August 2018

Lamontagne was accused of having sex with a former student in October 2017. After a two-hour jury deliberation, she was acquitted of all charges in July 2018

Lamontagne (pictured in July 2018) claimed that despite the trauma of her ordeal, she wouldn't do anything differently when trying to help out the student

Lamontagne (pictured in July 2018) claimed that despite the trauma of her ordeal, she wouldn’t do anything differently when trying to help out the student

Lamontagne said she holds school officials partially responsible for what happened to her, calling the school administration and superintendent ‘the weak part of the puzzle’ and claiming that they had ‘assisted the police in building a case against me.’  

Superintendent Kathryn Hawes said in an email to the Press Herald that ‘it is not our role to “build a case” against anyone’ and that they district had assisted authorities when requested, as always.  

Among the things that Lamontagne testified about during the trial, was the fact that she had been helping the unnamed teen with his school work and knew that he had had some emotional troubles. 

She said that she didn’t refer him to the school’s social worker because she didn’t think they’d get along and opted to work independently with the student instead. 

Weeks after the not guilty verdict, Lamontagne claimed that she still would chose the same course of action now as she did back then, telling the newspaper that she ‘did what I thought was right for a kid in a rough spot.’

She added that she wouldn’t have been able to do more than she did, but that she would not have been happy if she had done less than what she did.   

Lamontagne said that while she has not abandoned the idea of teaching, she is exploring other career options, including nursing, counseling and holistic health.  

Video courtesy of News Center Maine     

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk