PORTLAND – A former Sunday school teacher at Faith Baptist Church in North Yarmouth has been arrested on a charge of sexually assaulting a young boy who attended his church.

Thomas Wright, 43, was being held in the Cumberland County Jail pending an initial appearance today in District Court on a charge of gross sexual assault.

Sheriff Mark Dion expressed concern that church officials may have known about allegations of abuse but never reported them to police.

Parents of the alleged victim told investigators Thursday that Wright sexually assaulted their son four years ago while Wright was teaching Sunday school. He was arrested Friday night.

The church pastor, Wes Harris, said he never knew about the allegation against Wright.

“I had a lot of contact with this man. Nobody had any idea,” Harris said.

Police acknowledged that Harris may not have known about the attack on the boy. But Dion said Harris failed to notify police after being told by a female parishioner that Wright had abused her.

Harris said he spoke to Wright about that allegation, but he denied it.

Two other women also have told police that Wright abused them when they were minors.

After leaving Faith Baptist Church, Wright taught Sunday school at First Baptist Church in Freeport.

“The key concern here is that one church allowed a potential perpetrator to leave quietly, to move on to another church,” Dion said.