PORTLAND — A former Auburn teacher, convicted last year of molesting and assaulting students, was told Thursday he could stay at home pending trial in federal court on two counts of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity.

James Raymond, 28, of Auburn entered U.S. District Court Thursday dressed in a yellow jail suit, his ankles shackled and hands cuffed behind his back.

Magistrate Judge John H. Rich III told Raymond he would be allowed to go home after posting a $10,000 appearance bond but would have to wear an electronic monitoring device. Because that device must be used in conjunction with a landline telephone (as opposed to a cell phone), Raymond won’t be able to return home until a landline phone is installed there. In the meantime, he must stay with his grandmother, who has a landline telephone. He would have to stay behind bars until the monitoring device is hooked up to his grandmother’s phone, the judge said.

Other conditions of his release include:

• No direct or indirect contact with any victim in the underlying case;

• No contact with anyone younger than 18;

• Abide by curfew set by probation officer;

• Abide by all conditions of probation stemming from last year’s convictions on state charges;

• No possession of firearms; and

• Must undergo any psychiatric or psychological counseling and sex offender treatment already ordered.

Rich said he approved Raymond’s release based on a recommendation in a pretrial services report, which is not open to public examination.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig M. Wolff didn’t argue against Raymond’s release Thursday, saying the report’s recommendations, along with the conditions, were sufficient. Last week, Wolff filed a motion seeking to have Raymond detained until trial, noting his risk to the community and his risk of flight.

Judge Rich told Raymond he could be fined up to $250,000 and jailed up to 10 years in prison if he fails to show up for court appearances.

Raymond was released on two years of probation following his 60-day sentence last year. He was convicted at trial on five misdemeanor charges: two counts of unlawful sexual touching and three counts of assault. The three girls involved had been Raymond’s music students in April 2005 and September and October 2007. 

The latest charges date back to July 14, 2007, and Aug. 13, 2007, when Raymond allegedly transported a girl younger than 18 from Maine to New Hampshire and back to Maine, intending to commit felonious sexual assault and unlawful sexual touching, according to indictments handed up by a federal grand jury.

Each of the two counts carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life and/or a fine of $250,000.

The investigation was carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Auburn Police Department. Raymond was arrested on a warrant a week ago. He pleaded not guilty to both counts last week.

Raymond had told an Auburn Police detective in 2007 that a federal agency was investigating him for his online activity involving child pornography and that he had bought memberships at child pornography Web sites. His personal computer had been turned over to federal agents as part of that investigation, he told the detective.

Wolff wouldn’t say whether the alleged victim in the federal charges was a former student and declined to comment on details of Raymond’s alleged conduct in the case.

Supporters of Raymond appeared in the hearing room at the federal courthouse. As they left the building, one of them responded to a reporter’s question, saying: “I’m glad he’s coming home.”