DANBURY - A judge has granted a former Newtown Middle School eighth grade science teacher special pretrial probation in his court case stemming from his illegal possession of a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol while in that school in April.

In state Superior Court on September 22, Judge Dan Shaban approved "accelerated rehabilitation" for Jason M. Adams, 46, of Newtown. In that diversionary program, the defendant does not enter a plea, and provided that he successfully completes a probationary period without getting into trouble with the law, the charge will be dismissed.

Judge Shaban set nine months as the term of the probation, requiring that Mr Adams return to court on June 21, 2017. Other conditions of the probation are that Mr Adams not possess or own any firearms, that he have no pistol permit, and that he receive counseling, if deemed necessary by probation officials.

If a judge decides next June that Mr Adams has met the conditions of the probation, his pending felony charge of possession of a weapon on school grounds would be dismissed.

Accelerated rehabilitation is a diversionary program intended for first-time offenders who are considered not likely to offend again. A judge may approve the program after reviewing a criminal background check and the circumstances of a given case.

Attorney John Maxwell, who represents Mr Adams, said September 23 that the circumstances of Mr Adams's case include mitigating factors, resulting in his client receiving the special probation.

In describing the circumstances of the case, Mr Maxwell explained that Mr Adams's wife, Geri Adams, had arrived at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, shortly after the shooting incident in which a rampaging gunman had killed 20 first grade students and six educators. Mrs Adams had gone to the school to make a gingerbread house with the Adamses' 6-year-old son, Mr Maxwell said.

Mrs Adams saw children running out of the school after the incident, Mr Maxwell said. The Adamses' son was not injured, the attorney added.

At that time, Mr Adams was at work at Newtown Middle School, which was locked down for security reasons, Mr Maxwell said.

The Sandy Hook School shooting incident greatly heightened local sensitivity about the issue of guns in schools.

In 2014, Mrs Adams received some threatening, harassing e-mails from "hoaxers" who challenged what had happened at Sandy Hook School, resulting in Mr Adams renewing his pistol permit, Mr Maxwell said.

As a protective measure, Mr Maxwell then started bringing his pistol to work daily, but he made sure to leave it out of sight, locked inside his SUV, the attorney said. On April 6, Mr Adams entered the school before classes started with his gun inadvertently still in a holster on his belt, after which a school staffer spotted the weapon and reported it, resulting in Mr Adams's arrest by police, Mr Maxwell said.

The school system has armed personnel authorized to possess firearms in the course of their work, such as the police school resource officer and school security officers, but Mr Adams was not authorized to have a firearm while in the school, resulting in the criminal charge.

After his arrest, Mr Adams was placed on paid administrative leave by school officials. He was then facing an administrative investigation by the school system. Mr Adams had worked for the school system for about a decade and reportedly was a popular teacher.

As a consequence of his arrest, Mr Adams was later forced to resign his position as a school teacher, Mr Maxwell said, noting that the loss of his teaching job amounted to a stiff penalty.

Mr Maxwell noted that school officials, who were formally asked to respond to Mr Adams's request for accelerated rehabilitation, never did so.

Of Mr Adams's character, Mr Maxwell said, "He's a decent guy... He's been a good guy all his life and has done right by people."

A professional botanist by training, Mr Adams is now self-employed, working in the field of garden design, installation, and maintenance, Mr Maxwell said.