BATH (AP) – A Morse High School teacher has been charged with having unlawful sexual contact with a 17-year-old female student during a tutoring session, police said.

Deborah A. Lepkowski, 44, of Brunswick was arrested Monday on a charge that addresses inappropriate conduct between a teacher and a student, said Mark Waltz, a Brunswick Police Department detective.

Lepkowski has been on paid administrative leave since mid-January, shortly after the alleged incident, said Bob Connors, interim superintendent for Bath schools.

“The reason we pursued this is that the incident violated a trust between a student and a teacher,” said Waltz. “It’s something we just can’t tolerate.”

Lepkowski has been a science teacher at Morse for several years and has also served as the head field hockey and track coach.

According to court documents in West Bath District Court, the victim told detectives that she told Lepkowski last spring that she had a “crush” on her, and that Lepkowski replied by saying nothing could ever happen between them.

While at Lepkowski’s house for a tutoring session in January, the student told Lepkowski that her romantic feelings had not faded, and that the teacher responded that she felt the same, court documents say.

The next day the student returned to Lepkowski’s home, where they embraced and licked each others’ ears, according to the victim’s written statement. Both were fully clothed.

The student told detectives that she then felt nauseous and started shaking. Lepkowski then called the girl’s mother, who picked her up and took her home.

According to an affidavit, the incident was taken up by school officials two days later when three Morse High staff members reported it to school administrators.

Neither Lepkowski nor her attorney returned calls seeking comment.