SANTA ANA — A judge ordered a high school janitor Wednesday to stay away from the El Modena High School special education student he is accused of sexually assaulting over a four-month period.

The protective order was issued as Luis Antonio Mejia, 49, who worked for 12 years as a janitor at the high school in Orange, made his initial court appearance on seven felony and misdemeanor charges.

Orange County Superior Court Judge John Adams told Mejia that “there is to be absolutely no contact, pursuant to a protective order, with the alleged victim, who will be known at this date as Jane Doe.’’

Adams rescheduled arraignment for July 10. Mejia, who is on administrative leave from his job, is free on $250,000 bail.

After the hearing, Deputy District Attorney Robert Mestman elaborated on why his office requested the protective order.

“In this case, there’s allegations of hundreds of phone calls and text messages between the two people over a several-month period, so we thought it was important to insure that the defendant not have any contact — personal, electronic, telephonic, written — between him and the victim,’’ Mestman said.

Mejia was also told to remain away from all school campuses.

“There’s no reason for him to be on a school campus,’’ Mestman said. “We thought for the safety of the public, that was appropriate.’’

Mejia faces nearly 13 years behind bars if convicted of two felony counts each of sexual penetration by a foreign object of an incompetent victim, lewd acts upon a dependent person by a caretaker and sexual penetration by foreign object of a minor, and one misdemeanor count of child annoyance.

Prosecutors allege Mejia groomed the girl with gifts, money, candy and cards and sexually assaulted her between Dec. 2 and April 30, according to Farrah Emami of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

In addition to gifts he gave her, there were more than 100 calls and text messages between Mejia and the girl during a one-month period, and he sent her notes, including “I love you’’ cards, Emami alleged.

The alleged assaults took place on several occasions in Mejia’s office at the school after he allegedly instructed another janitor to cover a video surveillance camera with tape.

“We don’t believe [the other worker was] aware of what was going on,’’ Mestman said. “One employee that was told to cover up the cameras with tape was told that they were going to be painting them and to put tape over the camera.’’

A friend of the girl reported the alleged inappropriate relationship to the school principal, and Orange Police Department investigators were contacted.

The married janitor appeared in court with family members, who declined to comment.