A paraeducator at Graham Kapowsin High School is accused of having sex with a 17-year-old student.
Pierce County prosecutors on Thursday charged Wendy Wagoner, 49, with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor and communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
She was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.
Wagoner resigned from her job after the district launched an investigation in April.
Charging papers give this account:
Wagoner was the teacher’s assistant for the student, who had an individualized education plan.
A school employee spotted them kissing April 19 and reported it.
“When the defendant was notified of the investigation, she resigned and stated that she did not deserve to be investigated,” records say.
Although both she and the boy denied a sexual relationship, the teen allegedly proclaimed, “She is my everything.”
He told deputies they planned to be together once he turned 18.
Investigators found sexual text messages between Wagoner and the teen sent during school hours and in the middle of the night.
The teen’s cell phone also showed searches for the legal age to consent to sex in Washington and for the penalty of a student-teacher relationship.
“I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I’m beating myself up really bad right now,” Wagoner allegedly told detectives.
Investigators told her to stay away from the boy several times, but she allegedly continued their conversations with the teen using different phones.
A neighbor spotted them hugging May 2, the charging papers show.
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