PARIS — An Oxford County Sheriff’s deputy, who was placed on paid administrative leave in October, resigned April 3 after being charged with violating a protection from abuse order.

Matthew Steinort, 33, of Mexico was arrested March 26 in Mexico by state police, according to an arrest log, and booked into the Cumberland County Jail in Portland. He was released two days later on $400 bail.

He is scheduled to appear in a South Paris court June 27 at 1:30 p.m., according to a corrections officer at the Oxford County Jail in Paris.

Steinort was placed on paid leave last fall after a judge issued a no-contact order barring him from possessing firearms, making him ineligible for active duty.

According to Oxford County arrest logs, Steinort booked his last arrestee Oct. 9.

Steinort’s resignation was accepted by commissioners H. Sawin Millett of Waterford, Lisa Keim of Dixfield and Timothy Turner of Buckfield at their April 3 meeting.

County Administrator Zane Loper said Steinort would remain on the payroll until April 7 in accordance with union rules.

The protection order was obtained by Steinort’s wife last fall following allegations of emotional and physical abuse, according to a Bangor Daily News story. A judge later issued a final order in November, barring him from direct or indirect contact and from possessing weapons for two years.

Steinort said he did not dispute violating the order, but denied the abuse allegations. He said he attempted to contact his wife indirectly through her teenage daughter, which constitutes indirect contact under the terms of the order, according to the article.

The BDN also reported that Steinort was not disciplined during his time on leave and that he attended a 30-day mental health and addiction treatment program during that period. Steinort said he ultimately chose to resign because the court’s firearm restriction made it impossible to return to duty.

Commissioners discussed at the April 3 meeting — without naming Steinort — whether the county should consider changing its policies to address situations where employees resign before disciplinary reviews are complete.

“Some concerns were expressed about how commissioners’ boards may have handled resignations in the past,” Loper said in an email to the Sun Journal. “I do plan to follow up with the board of commissioners’ regarding their requests about our legal obligations. We want to be in compliance with current legal standards.”

Loper declined to comment on personnel matters or on Sheriff’s Office policy, noting those decisions fall outside his jurisdiction.

Oxford County Sheriff Christopher Wainwright told the Sun Journal that he could not share further details about Steinort’s resignation or the events leading up to it because it is a personnel matter.

Asked whether a second internal investigation was opened, Wainwright said, “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on any active internal investigations, only the findings of sustained investigations.”