PORTLAND – A former drug and alcohol counselor who admitted having sex with a former teenage client was acquitted of sexual assault.

Kristy Higgins’ professional relationship with the teenager ended upon his release from the Long Creek Youth Development Center, where she met him when he was 15 years old, Justice Thomas Humphrey ruled. Humphrey presided over the case without a jury.

State law prohibits sex between a mental health professional and a client, but testimony during the three-day trial indicated that they began having sex weeks after the boy was released from Long Creek on Oct. 12, 2004. Higgins was 27 when they met.

“It came down to what date the counselor-client relationship ended, and the judge found that it was when he was discharged,” said Higgins’ attorney, Randall Bates. “Her job description said she was working with ‘incarcerated youth’ and he was no longer incarcerated.”

Higgins, who was fired from her job, declined comment after Thursday’s verdict. Her teenage lover wasn’t there to celebrate with her because he was back at Long Creek.

The trouble for them doesn’t end there, however. Higgins still faces charges of violating bail conditions that had required her to stay away from the teen while awaiting trial. Last month, she was seen hugging and kissing him in South Portland.

The bail-violation charge will not disappear because of the verdict, said Assistant District Attorney Deborah Chmielewski. The bail violation is a felony that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.