MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Tacoma teacher charged with having sex with students

Feb 7, 2014, 12:33 PM | Updated: Feb 10, 2014, 5:45 pm

A female teacher at Lincoln High School in Tacoma has been charged with two counts of child rape in the third degree and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

Meredith Powell, 24, pleaded not guilty and will be released on her personal recognizance.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said all three of Powell’s victims were students of hers.

“She had oral sex with one boy, who was 15, she had sexual activity with another, who was 15, and she propositioned, via Snapchat, a 17-year-old.”

According to court documents, Powell did not have intercourse with any of the victims.

Lindquist said Powell wrote a letter on Monday to one of the boys’ girlfriends apologizing for what she called promiscuous text messages.

Powell, a math teacher with the Tacoma School District since 2012, was arrested on Thursday. She is on unpaid administrative leave.

Correction: Feb. 10
An early version of this report said Powell was on paid administrative leave. She is on unpaid administrative leave.

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