(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
SPOKANE, Wash. -A Mead High School teacher has been arrested and charged with having a sexual relationship with a student.
Last month, court records showed 37-year-old Mead High School teacher Wesley Perez was under investigation for having an inappropriate relationship with a student. On Wednesday, the inmate roster at the Spokane County Jail shows Perez was booked into jail Wednesday morning on a charge of 1st Degree Sexual Misconduct with a Minor.
According to a search warrant filed in court on April 27th, Mead High School principal Jeff Naslund received an anonymous letter detailing Perez's relationship with the student.
The letter said that they met at a leadership camp during the 2016-2017 school year, and that initial contact eventually led to a sexual relationship. The letter said that the student and Perez had been exchanging texts and that Perez took the student's virginity.
Principal Naslund turned the letter over to the Spokane County Sheriff's Office who opened an investigation.
According to the court documents, deputies contacted the student, who denied the relationship and said she and Perez had not been in contact at all. She also said she did not have a Facebook page, a Snapchat account, or a Twitter page. However, subsequent interviews with the student's mother show that she may have a Snapchat account. Deputies filed the search warrant to get access to the student's cell phone to see if it holds any clues as to the extent of her relationship with the teacher.
In April, administrators at the Mead School District declined to comment on the matter and would not even say if the teacher was still working in a classroom or had been put on leave during the investigation. Students at the school said Perez was no longer in a classroom.
Following the arrest of Perez, Mead Assistant Superintendent Ralph Thayer issued the following statement:
"We want to reiterate that when the Mead School District received an anonymous letter about the concern we immediately notified law enforcement and CPS. When it comes to child safety we always take appropriate matters and are taking this matter very seriously."
Perez is expected to make his first court appearance today.