AUGUSTA — A science teacher at Gardiner Area High School has been charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, allegedly plying her with alcohol at her home before assaulting her.

John M. Glowa Jr., 43, of Readfield, who has been employed by the school district for the last decade, faces two counts of gross sexual assault and one of furnishing liquor to a minor. Glowa was arrested Tuesday by Maine State Police Detective Ryan Brockway.

IF YOU NEED HELP If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-871-7741. To learn more about sexual violence prevention and response in Maine, visit the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault online at mecasa.org.

Judge Thomas Nale set bail at $50,000 cash and prohibiting Glowa from contact with all children, including his own. Glowa’s next court appointment is scheduled for April 10.

Glowa, who has been employed since 2008 by School Administrative District 11, was “immediately placed on administrative leave” and banned from having contact with students there and from being on the premises, according to a statement released by Superintendent Patricia Hopkins.

The girl identified as the victim does not attend school in Gardiner, Hopkins confirmed.

An affidavit file by Brockway says the sexual assault occurred Jan. 23, a day many schools were closed because of snowfall, in a home in Mount Vernon.

Brockway wrote that the girl, who was upset and crying, told her boyfriend of the assaults later that night and he reported it to his father, who contacted an off-duty Maine State Police trooper. The Department of Health and Human Services also was contacted about the case, and Brockway said it was decided that the boyfriend’s father could bring the girl to his home for the night “because she didn’t feel safe at her residence.”

Brockway said the girl told him Glowa had given her several alcoholic drinks while they ate pizza and watched a movie, and that the sexual assaults occurred while she was drunk.

She said afterward she vomited because of the alcohol, and Glowa told her to tell her mother she was ill, which she did when her mother returned home.

She told Brockway she called her boyfriend after Glowa left the home.

Brockway also said he obtained video footage from Jan. 23 at Flying Pond Variety in Mount Vernon, showing Glowa purchasing a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of vodka as well as four 24-ounce cans of Twisted Tea and a pizza.

The girl also told police and others that Glowa had given her alcohol previously, starting last fall, when her mother was away on a business trip, and had told her not to tell her mother.

Hopkins said Wednesday morning that schools officials “will monitor this case closely, and will determine as soon as we can, how we will address the personnel matter.”

“We must respect the integrity of the investigation by law enforcement as well as the legal rights, including confidentiality, of the employee. At all times, however, the safety and welfare of our students will remain paramount and will guide our actions going forward,” he said.

In a letter sent Wednesday to parents, Hopkins also encouraged any students who are concerned to contact a school guidance counselor or administrator.

“Teachers have been asked not to discuss this matter in class as it is a personnel matter and may disrupt the teaching and learning process,” she wrote.

Betty Adams can be contacted at 621-5631 or at:

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Twitter: @betadams

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