WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A Newport School Board member who co-hosts a podcast that espouses conservative values is facing criminal charges of having engaged in sex with a minor teenager more than six years ago in Vermont.

Tim Beard, who was appointed to the Newport School Board in 2022 following an earlier election defeat for the position and was re-elected to a three-year term in 2023, pleaded not guilty to a single count of sexual exploitation of a minor in Windsor County Superior Court in White River Junction on Tuesday morning.

Beard, 40, is alleged to have had sex with a female, who at the time was 17 years and 9 months old and known to him, at a campground in Windsor in the summer of 2017, according to Weathersfield police, who conducted the investigation and wrote the probable cause statement in support of the charge.

The minor came from another state in 2017 to spend time with Beard and his then-wife. The minor eventually felt comfortable enough with the family that she said she began to view Beard in a parental role, according to court documents, even though he had no legal status over her.

If found guilty and convicted, Beard could face up to five years in state prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000, per Vermont state statutes.

“Sexual exploitation of a minor” is a charge brought against a defendant when the victim is under 18 years old, there is at least a four-year age difference between the parties and the defendant is in a “position of power, authority or supervision” over the minor.

The “exploitation of a minor” statute is invoked when the alleged offending party is not a parent or legal guardian of a minor but who is nonetheless, by virtue of age and other factors, in a superior position vis-a-vis the victim and, as such, deemed able to take advantage of them.

The statute has been applied in several cases throughout the state in recent years when high school teachers — both male and female — have been charged with having sexual relations with students.

Along with Newport School Board Chairman Steve Morris, Beard co-hosts the “Tim & Steve Show” podcast available on YouTube, in which the two discuss everything from gardening tips and family vacations to hot-button political and cultural topics from a conservative and Libertarian point of view. The podcasts occasionally feature interviews with law enforcement officials and other Newport area leaders about where they stand on the issues.

Beard’s YouTube of page lists 8,190 subscribers and 174 episodes — typically running between one hour to two hours in length — posted since 2022 with a total of nearly 129,000 views.

As of about 5 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, Beard’s name was still listed as a member of the Newport School Board with a term expiring in 2026.

Neither Morris, the School Board chairman, nor SAU 43 Superintendent Donna Magoon responded to messages for comment on Tuesday.