POLAND - A former Tripp Lake Camp counselor was sentenced to prison in England Wednesday after admitting he raped a 5-year-old girl and abused and photographed other children.

Neil Challis, 35, who taught at 13 schools across Derby and Derbyshire in England, was ordered to spend 14 years in prison, according to the BBC News.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, police in Maine are cooperating with British authorities to determine whether Challis committed any crimes when he served as a camp counselor in Poland.

Early indications are that he did not.

Police said they found no evidence that any Maine children were assaulted by Challis, although they are investigating reports that he may have stolen underwear while working at the camp.

It was not clear when Challis was hired at the camp, but he served as a staff member there for 14 seasons, according to camp director Leslie Levy.

Police said workers at Tripp Lake Camp checked out Challis' background before he was hired. Nothing was found.

"They do run criminal checks and nothing was found on him," said Androscoggin County Sheriff Guy Desjardins. "To the best of my knowledge, they never had any issues with him."

Deputy Tom Slivinski, who patrols Poland, said few problems are reported at Tripp Lake Camp, a residential summer retreat for girls ages 8 to 16.

"I don't get called out there very often," Slivinski said. "There are occasional alarms or lost canoes. That's about it."

Several weeks ago, before Challis was sentenced, the camp director sent a letter to parents to notify them of the development. Levy wrote that camp officials were "shocked and surprised" by the criminal allegations against Challis and stressed that he would not return to work at the camp.

"To date, we have received no indication from authorities or parents that Mr. Challis engaged in improper conduct while at camp," Levy wrote. "In fact, we have not been contacted by the British authorities in connection with their investigation."

According to the BBC, Challis was arrested in January after his victim, now 8 years old, told her parents she had been sexually assaulted. After he was arrested, Challis admitted to six other charges of rape and four charges of indecently assaulting a child.

Challis also pleaded guilty to charges of taking indecent pictures of a child and to possession of thousands of explicit pictures of children, according to the BBC.

Interpol, the world's largest international police organization, is investigating the case.