2019 UPDATE: Following a trial in February 2019, Blake William Jackson was acquitted of sexual assault.

A former student support worker with the Halifax Regional School Board stands accused of sexually assaulting a female high school student. Blake William Jackson, 50, of Beechville, N.S., is charged with a single count of sexual assault.

According to court documents, Jackson allegedly held the student's hand to his crotch and forced her to perform oral sex on him. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Police say the assault is alleged to have occurred in December 2015 and, "after an investigation, the charges were laid of sexual assault against him," said Const. Carol McIsaac of the Halifax Regional Police.

McIsaac said police are not aware of any other alleged victims.

Jackson's trial will go ahead in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in February 2019. (Robert Short/CBC)

According to court documents, the alleged assault was reported to school officials in January of 2016. At that point, Jackson was barred from school property and from contact with any school staff.

Doug Hadley, a spokesperson for the Halifax Regional School Board, said Jackson worked as a support worker at three HRSB schools and as a volunteer girls basketball coach.

Because the identity of the alleged victim is protected by a court-ordered publication ban, CBC News is not identifying the schools where Jackson worked.

"Any time we receive an allegation of employee misconduct we take it very seriously, particularly where student safety could be at issue," Hadley said in an emailed statement to CBC News.

"The safety of our students is our top priority, and when necessary we take immediate steps to ensure all students are protected," he said.

Trial scheduled for next year

Jackson left his job in October of 2016, but Hadley would provide no further details.

"It is a personnel matter and we do not discuss the circumstances around a former employee's departure," he said.

Jackson was formally charged in January 2017. In October 2017, Jackson was arraigned in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, where his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

Jackson has elected to be tried by judge alone. The trial is scheduled for February 2019.