1 min read

PORTLAND — A former art teacher at Mt. Ararat middle and high schools pleaded guilty in Cumberland County Superior Court on Friday to possessing sexually explicit material of a minor.

Nathan Valentine, 33, will serve nine months in prison, with the remainder of a four-year sentence suspended.

Valentine was accused of accessing sexually explicit images of children in January 2025. Portland police began investigating after Google alerted the department’s computer crimes unit of the images, which were discovered in a Google Drive account linked to Valentine.

Valentine previously worked in Maine School Administrative District 75, the district’s superintendent confirmed in February. School board agendas described him as a teacher for art and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics).

Valentine’s employment ended May 17, days before Superintendent Heidi O’Leary announced that Portland police were opening an investigation into an ex-employee of the district. At that time, O’Leary said the allegations against the employee were “deeply unsettling,” though she declined to share further information.

Portland police arrested Valentine in February after he allegedly failed to appear in court.

Possessing sexually explicit material of a child under 12 years old is a Class C felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Valentine’s attorney, Michael Whipple, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Valentine’s sentence also included two years of probation, and he is required to register as a sex offender and prohibited from contact with children under 16.