Skykomish superintendent placed on leave after teacher charged with raping student

Fallout continues in the Skykomish School District following the arrest of a teacher on child rape charges.

The superintendent of the Skykomish School District has been placed on leave while the investigation continues.

Earlier this month, the teacher, Daniel Bubar, 62, was charged with grooming and sexually abusing a student for more than two years, starting when she was 12. He served as a gym teacher, athletic director, and Title IX coordinator.

Bubar has been charged with rape of a child in the second degree, rape of a child in the third degree, and communication with a minor for immoral purposes. Despite Bubar pleading not guilty, he admitted to engaging in at least 20 sex acts with the student victim, according to court documents obtained by KIRO Newsradio and MyNorthwest.

During a school board meeting on Wednesday, the district announced that Superintendent Dr. Destry Jones was placed on leave. The district did not state a reason for why this move happened, but, according to court documents, other students and staff expressed concerns about the victim and Bubar’s “relationship” for months. Multiple students have been pulled from the school and won’t return until Jones has been removed. Several parents attended the school board meeting, asking for accountability and for a leadership change.

According to KIRO 7, acting superintendent Alberto Laverde additionally has the ability to place any teachers on leave who may have known what was going on with Bubar.

Skykomish coach admits to sexual contact with student, begged deputies to ‘put me in jail’

Content Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault that may be disturbing to some readers.

According to charging documents, the student victim’s mother contacted the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) on March 2 to report that her daughter told her she had been involved with the 62-year-old teacher. The allegations date back to when the girl was in seventh grade — including inside the small school of nearly 50 students and nine teachers, the report said.

“Bubar stated several times that he was ‘guilty,’ and everything that had happened was his fault,” a deputy said in the charging documents. “Bubar cried several times while discussing the impact he’d had … he stated, ‘I’ll be perceived as whatever it is, I get it, I own that, I deserve it, but I just hope the people that know me, it doesn’t matter. Perceptions are going to change.'”

In an interview with the deputy, the girl’s mother said Bubar began giving her daughter special attention, gifts, like a soccer scarf and a magazine, and gave her favorable treatment as early as seventh grade, which she said intensified during the following school year.

According to detectives, the girl reported that the interactions escalated during her eighth‑grade year and continued into ninth grade, including incidents she said occurred on school property, as well as at a community center and church parking lot. Her last day at the school was Feb. 11, the report said.

Investigators wrote that the family provided screenshots of emails between the student and Bubar that appeared to use coded language. They also submitted security‑camera footage from a Sultan church showing the two speaking on Feb. 20, which police confirmed matched a vehicle registered to Bubar.

The mother also turned over items her daughter said were gifts from Bubar, according to court documents. Deputies said they included lingerie, a miniskirt, a sex toy, and lubricant, which the victim’s mother said Bubar purchased from a Lover’s store in Monroe.

Skykomish teachers’ relationship with the student

Court documents said the victim regularly met with Bubar after transferring to Skykomish K-12 from another school district, where she suffered the traumatic loss of a friend and classmate. Deputies said the victim “confided in Bubar about her experiences.”

Over time, Bubar increased his gift-giving to the victim, deputies said. According to court documents, the victim told her mother, “Bubar also supplied her with alcohol three to four times a week, giving her Mike’s Hard Lemonade and small bottles of Fireball.”

The victim also said Bubar would spray a teddy bear she owned with deodorant so that it smelled like him.

Victim’s mother

According to charging documents, the victim’s mother told deputies she became increasingly concerned about Bubar’s gift-giving and emails he allegedly sent to her daughter.

Deputies said during the victim’s 7th-grade year, the mother said she voiced her concerns with another teacher at the school. However, court documents said that the teacher told the victim’s mother she also saw several emails and explained that all of them were about soccer and intimated that the victim and suspect had bonded, and the emails appeared harmless.

During the victim’s 8th-grade year, her mother said her daughter started talking less about Bubar, and in her 9th-grade year, she began to struggle with bullying. Unable to resolve the bullying issue and with growing concern about her daughter’s behavior, deputies said the mother removed the victim from the school on Feb. 11.

During that time, deputies said the victim’s mother “reported that she discovered naked images and videos of her daughter standing in front of a mirror on her phone.”

The victim’s mother also stated she purchased a laptop for the victim’s new school and asked her daughter for the password to set it up. Moments after her daughter refused to share the password, court documents said the daughter told her mother, “Fine, I’ll just tell you guys. I’ll tell you what you’ve been wanting to know.”

According to deputies, the victim then revealed to her mother, “Bubar had been having sex with her for a year and a half.”

Court documents said those sexual interactions happened numerous times a day in different areas of Skykomish K-12, including Bubar’s office, behind the stage at the school, in a closet, and inside a stairwell near the school gym. Deputies said the victim told her mother she would go to the bathroom during class and be gone for long periods of time.

Court documents reveal that the same teacher the victim’s mother raised concerns with told the mother that the victim “was doing really well and was having no issues, other than that she leaves class and ‘tends to get lost’ for long periods of time.”

School denied prior knowledge of accusations, investigation

According to court documents, the victim told her mother that multiple staff members, including a secretary and counselor, and students at the school had expressed concerns about her and Bubar’s relationship.

In charging documents, deputies said the victim also told her mother, “the principal at the school told Bubar that he couldn’t be alone with her, which was enforced by having another child with them while they were together.”

The victim told deputies that the child was autistic and would sit in the far end of the gym with his tablet and headphones while she and Bubar would engage in sex acts in the stairwell on the opposite side of the gym, according to charging documents.

The victim said there was a window near the stairwell and Bubar would put her against the wall so that Bubar could see through it, and that they were almost caught by a janitor while engaging in a sex act, according to the documents.

After Bubar’s arrest, the Skykomish School District sent an email to families and the community and posted it on social media. Superintendent Destry Jones said the district had no advance notice that the employee was under investigation. Jones added that the district would try to remain transparent as more information becomes available while also protecting the privacy of the student involved.

By Tuesday, it appeared the district had hired a public relations firm, which sent a second letter to the media.

The letter started: “Last Friday, March 6, 2026, we learned of the accusations against an employee of the Skykomish School District. We apologize for the lack of information provided to parents as the police activity unfolded at the school.”

It continued, “To allow students, parents, and staff to process the events of the last several days, we will postpone reopening school until Monday, March 16. We know there is hurt and anger, and we want every parent and student to know that we are committed to immediate steps to ensure all students are safe and protected, now and for the future. We are members of this community and parents as well, and we too are horrified and shocked at the recent events.”

Interview with the victim

Court documents said the victim spoke with investigators on March 4, two days after first disclosing details to her mother.

During the interview, deputies said she acknowledged a close personal relationship with Bubar dating back to seventh grade, when she said they “bonded over soccer” and that she received gifts from Bubar.

She also said, according to court documents, at least one staff member had reported concerns to the school principal, who later instructed Bubar not to be alone with her. Deputies said she told her mother that Bubar would drive past her home during school breaks to see if she was outside and that the two had discussed ways to meet secretly if they could no longer communicate freely.

Investigators said the victim’s mother discovered an interaction between the victim and Bubar in the parking lot of a church near the family’s home on Feb. 20. Security footage reviewed by the family reportedly showed the two speaking briefly before the victim pointed toward a camera, and the encounter ended.

Detectives said the girl also expressed a desire to speak with Bubar’s wife, telling an interviewer she felt the woman “deserved to hear” what was happening directly if Bubar were arrested.

Interview with Bubar

According to court documents, in the early moments of his interview with investigators, Bubar “denied any inappropriate physical contact” with the victim, but did admit he emailed the victim “several hundred times, over periods of time that would be inappropriate.”

When a deputy told Bubar they didn’t believe him, court documents said Bubar admitted to buying the victim alcohol and providing it at school, and to buying her gifts, including a miniskirt, lingerie, and a sex toy.

Deputies said Bubar claimed he’d gotten an email from the victim “challenging him” or “challenging his manhood” by saying he didn’t have the guts to touch her. Court documents said, Bubar replied, “Maybe next week the coach will try again.”

Bubar then told deputies, “I felt there was an indication on her part that she wanted me to do something, and I never had had that feeling with anybody in my 35 years,” according to charging documents.

Later, deputies said, Bubar described multiple sex acts with the victim, but denied any intercourse because he had “performance” issues. Then, deputies said, Bubar apologized, began crying, and said: “I felt like I was a trusting adult that she could talk to and care about, and it’s inappropriate.”

According to deputies, Bubar used a massage gun, restraints, and a mask, and he gave investigators permission to retrieve the items from his truck as evidence.

As the interview continued, deputies said Bubar stated several times that he was “guilty” and that everything that had happened was his fault.

“Bubar cried several times while discussing the impact he’d had,” deputies said in court documents.

Deputies said Bubar stated, “I’ve damaged a lot in the last couple years, including my own personal life, and everybody in this small town is going to be hurt, it’s going to be painful for them.”

Finally, deputies said, Bubar turned his attention toward his family.

“There’s going to be no trust in the district, all of my colleagues, my wife, and my son. How do I go home? I don’t want to go home. I don’t deserve anything. Can you just take me to jail, I don’t want to go home. I can’t. Please take me somewhere. I can’t. Put me in jail, please.” Bubar said, according to deputies.

Bubar also told deputies he would not get an attorney or deny any charges or accusations. Moments later, deputies placed him under arrest and transported him to the King County Jail, where he remains on $750,000 bail. Bubar is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday. Deputies said their investigation remains open.

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