A Biddeford woman faces a federal charge of distributing cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school.

Chelsea Mercier, 22, is accused of participating in a drug transaction within 550 feet of St. James School in Biddeford, according to a court document that became public Thursday, the day of her arrest.

The offense carries a penalty of one to 40 years in prison.

Mercier sold cocaine base to a confidential informant on May 31, according to a police affidavit. A video camera in the informant’s vehicle captured the transaction and a week later, during a vehicle stop, Mercier was found with baggies of cocaine base after a police canine indicated the presence of drugs on her, according to the affidavit.

The informant and an officer involved in both the surveillance and vehicle stop identified the woman as Mercier, according to the affidavit.

Mercier is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on Wednesday for a detention hearing.