SEATTLE — A Seattle high school teacher is facing charges after he was accused of having a sexual relationship with a student.
On Feb. 17, police responded to Franklin High School after a 16-year-old student reported that she was having a “consensual sexual relationship” with a teacher, according to probable cause documents released by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The relationship between the student and her 32-year-old teacher allegedly began on Feb. 2.
Since then, the student told police that she and her teacher had inappropriate contact five times and sent over 3,000 text messages to each other.
On Sunday, the school’s principal addressed the situation in a letter to parents that reads, in part:
Last week, we received a report that a Franklin employee engaged in inappropriate contact with a student.
Our school and the district officials quickly moved to address the situation as soon as the report was received. The district has placed the employee on leave. They have been restricted from having contact with students, families, and staff. They have been restricted from entering any SPS school buildings or attending school-related events.
SPS does not tolerate any abuse of authority or sexual assault toward students.
We have initiated a full internal investigation into this allegation through the district’s Human Resources Department and Office of Student Civil Rights. As part of our process, we have informed and will collaborate with the Seattle Police Department.
Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our students and community.
Any SPS student or staff member who has been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted can report the incident(s) to any school staff member or the district’s Title IX coordinator by contacting 206-252-0367 or title.ix@seattleschools.org.
We will continue to keep the Franklin community informed as appropriate throughout the course of the investigation and its findings.
Prosecutors argued there was probable cause for five counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and one count of communication for immoral purposes. A first appearance judge set the teacher’s bail at $100,000.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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