A 24-year-old former Rogers High School teacher is under investigation for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student.
Back in March, detectives were contacted by Spokane Public Schools Security Director Mark Sterk who said he'd been made aware of a sexual relationship between the two.
According to court documents, Sterk said the girl was not a student in the teacher's class, but the teacher did admit to the having a sexual relationship with the girl to his father, who is also a teacher at the school. The teacher's father relayed the information to the administration.
That same morning, the teacher was placed on administrative leave. Sterk said he was told the teacher told his father he had text messages to prove the relationship was consensual.
According to court documents, the student told detectives she requested to follow the teacher on Instagram over winter break and he accepted. She said the two began talking over Instagram.
The student said the two talked at a basketball game for more than an hour and he told her he thought she was attractive and a "great girl." She said he also told her they should wait until she graduated before they started hanging out.
Eventually, according to court documents, the two exchanged phone numbers and would talk for hours on the phone every night.
The student said she began hanging out with the teacher at his Newman Lake home and "he came on heavy and strong...one thing led to another" and they had consensual sex, according to the student.
The student says the two had sex 7-8 times and he never threatened her and all sexual activity was mutual. The girl said he told her he couldn't tell anyone about the relationship because he could lose his job. According to court documents, the girl said she didn't want to continue the relationship because it was too stressful, and he agreed.
The student said she told him he needed to "get it out and tell someone," to which he replied, "don't be vindictive." The student said she told him she was going to tell the school counselor everything, and he said he was going to tell his father immediately about the relationship.
According to court documents, the student said she didn't have any text messages on her phone from the teacher because he always made sure she erased all messages via text and Instagram. She also said the teacher made sure she shut off her location services on her phone so no one could see where she was when she was at his house.
According to court documents, the girl's parents did not wish to pursue charges because they felt the two were close enough in age that it wasn't a serious violation.
According to court records, attempts to reach the teacher by detectives were unsuccessful and they were told they could speak with his attorney.
Court documents released on Monday show detectives obtained search warrants for the student and the teacher's Instagram accounts for evidence of communication between the two.
The school district says the teacher resigned about a week after being placed on administrative leave. So far, there have been no charges filed against the former teacher.
The former teacher is now under investigation for First Degree Sexual Misconduct with a Minor.
(story & photo: KHQ.com)