SANDPOINT — A former Sandpoint resident and Lake Pend Oreille School District employee was arrested earlier this month on allegations of sexual abuse.  

Luc-Edner Pierrot, 46, was arrested in late August in Gwinnett County, Georgia, after a nationwide warrant was issued out of Bonner County for his arrest on two counts of lewd conduct with a minor under 16.  

Both charges carry a penalty of up to life in prison and a $50,000 fine.  

Pierrot is in custody at the Bonner County Jail on a $750,000 bail. His high bail is a result of several factors, according to court documents, including that his location was unknown to prosecutors, and they worried about his accessibility to children and vulnerable populations as both a counselor and pastor.  

Bonner County prosecutors also viewed his strong ties to Haiti as a reason to believe he was a flight risk.  

After the warrant was issued in mid-June, Pierrot was arrested in Georgia on Aug. 25 and extradited to Bonner County in mid-September.    

The charges indicate that Pierrot committed the alleged crimes between 2017 and 2019. At that time, Pierrot was employed at the Lake Pend Oreille School District as a custodian before transitioning to a special education paraprofessional at Sandpoint Middle School. Payroll reports note that he was employed with the district until the upcoming school year.  

Information on the charges is sealed to the public, but indicates the girl involved was between the ages of 12 and 14 during the alleged abuse.  

He is expected to appear in court Sept. 30 for a preliminary hearing, where a judge will determine if there's sufficient evidence to charge Pierrot with the felonies.