Tacoma teacher pleads ‘not guilty’ to rape of student

The Tacoma middle school teacher accused of raping her sixth grade student has pleaded not guilty.

Keshia T. Shaw, 33, was arraigned in Pierce County Superior Court Friday on five counts of second-degree child rape.

According to prosecutors, Shaw had sex with the 12-year-old boy multiple times beginning in April 2007 when she was a science and math teacher at Gray Middle School.

The boy said he was re-taking a test and noticed Shaw was not wearing underwear. She allegedly caught him looking and asked if he was, “turned on.” She then took him into another room to have sex with him, the victim alleges.

“The sex began in school, in her classroom, in the building,” said Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “It eventually migrated to his house when the student’s mother was not home.”

Shaw had sex with the boy again a week later when he stayed after school, according to court documents. He said their encounters continued that summer when she would give him rides home while his mother was at work.

The boy ran away from home during his 8th grade year but says he went back to school to visit friends. He told police he and Shaw had sex again in a “private area” of her classroom. After the encounter, she took him to a bank and gave him $80, then drove him to a parking lot where they had sex, prosecutors say.

The boy, now 17, told his mother about the alleged rape after hearing a church sermon about molestation.

Shaw was hired as a substitute teacher for the Tacoma School District in 2002 and worked in various schools until she was hired full-time at Gray in 2005.

“This was the first we had heard of anything like this,” said district Spokesperson Dan Voelpel.

When the district became aware of the allegations against Shaw in May, Voelpel said she was placed on paid administrative leave.

Bail for Shaw has been set at $75,000. A judge ordered that she have no contact with the victim.

Ursula Reutin, 97.3 KIRO FM Reporter, contributed to this report