LAPORTE – A northern Indiana man who resigned Oct. 3 from his job as principal of South Adams Elementary School in Berne has been arrested on charges he had a sexual relationship with a teenage girl that started with them chatting on the Internet when he was a high school teacher.

Brian Strauss, 40, of Michigan City, was free on bond Saturday after appearing in court Friday to answer to felony charges of sexual misconduct with a minor, child solicitation and vicarious sexual gratification.

The Associated Press could not reach Strauss for comment Saturday. No telephone number was listed for him in public records.

The girl contacted authorities in August. Investigators say she told them her relationship with Strauss lasted about four years. Court documents indicate that Strauss began chatting online with the girl in 2008, when she was 15 and he was a teacher at South Central High School in Union Mills in northwest Indiana. The documents allege he later asked the girl to perform sex acts and that he watched them on the Internet via webcam.

The girl also told police that she had several sexual encounters with Strauss at school between her freshman and sophomore years, court documents said.

Strauss resigned from his teaching position in 2010 and became principal at South Adams Elementary in Berne, about 35 miles south of Fort Wayne. He resigned as principal there Oct. 3. South Adams school officials said investigators do not believe Strauss was involved in any inappropriate relationships with students during his time as principal.