JAY — An art teacher at Spruce Mountain High School accused of sexual exploitation of a minor and tampering with a victim resigned Tuesday from the school system, Superintendent Scott Albert said Wednesday.

The resignation was received from Jan Barlow, 47, of Auburn late Tuesday afternoon, Albert said in an email.

“He’s no longer employed by (Regional School Unit) 73,” Albert said.

Barlow has taught art in the district, most recently at the high school, for about 15 years.

Barlow was arrested March 8 on the two felony charges. He was released Monday from the Franklin County Detention Center in Farmington on $5,000 cash bail after an appearance before a judge the same day.

A conviction on each charge carries a maximum 10 years in prison and up to a $20,000 fine.

Barlow turned in his passport to the jail prior to his release as required by a judge, a corrections officer confirmed.

Barlow was put on paid administrative leave by Albert on Feb. 27 after a parental complaint was received about an inappropriate teacher-student relationship.

Jay police launched an investigation into the complaint. Before Barlow’s arrest, police conducted a search warrant at his home in Auburn.

Due to the nature of the complaint, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine Department of Education’s certification and credentialing department were contacted, Albert said previously.

According to an affidavit filed in a Farmington court by School Resource Officer Anthony York, a corporal with the Jay Police Department, the mother of the victim caught Barlow and the student, who was fully dressed, together on the video chat app FaceTime.

At one time, the two allegedly exchanged nude photos of themselves, the affidavit said.

The victim got Barlow’s phone number off his art website and contacted him. The two started chatting, and when York asked if the victim had the messages, he was told they were deleted because of space concerns on the phone, the officer wrote.

The victim’s phone, password and charger were given to York to review and he was able to see one of the deleted messages and a video screen recording listed as “no contact.” One video conversation stated, “We need to have a code word on when we can talk. “‘Red’ means we can not talk. ‘Green’ means we can talk,” the affidavit said.

The phone was given to a detective at the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office so authorities could retrieve the deleted messages and photos, York’s affidavit said.

Sarah Glynn, defense attorney, told Judge Sarah Churchill on Monday that Barlow has no criminal history.

Assistant District Attorney Claire Andrews told the court that the state was concerned Barlow would flee the country.

York wrote in his affidavit that the victim disclosed to him that Barlow said it would be nothing to pack up and take off to Thailand. During the search of Barlow’s home Saturday, a passport was seen in a drawer and notes were found about looking into moving out of state, the affidavit said.

“There was writing about leaving the state and moving to Ohio,” York wrote. “Jan, on the way to jail, also disclosed to me that he was looking for other jobs possibly out of state. At this time, I believe Jan is a flight risk.”

An email sent to Barlow on Wednesday was not immediately answered.