Seattle Public Schools employee faces child molestation charges
Apr 20, 2022, 11:11 AM | Updated: 3:58 pm
An instructional assistant with Seattle Public Schools (SPS) was charged with two counts of child molestation for abuse that allegedly occurred during the 2015-2016 school year at Rainier View Elementary.
The employee, identified as Abdi Hassan, was the victim’s English as a Second Language instructor at the time of the alleged abuse, according to court documents. He worked for the district since 2012.
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“Hassan has not been working in schools or allowed on any SPS campus during the investigation into the allegations,” the district wrote in a press release. “As soon as the district learned of the police investigation, our Human Resources Department took immediate action to suspend Hassan from work and prohibit any contact with students.”
Hassan has not been on school property since November 2, 2021.
With charges filed, the district is moving to terminate Hassan’s employment. The district is also reaching out to families and schools where he worked to provide them with resources and contact information according to the press release.
The victim came forward about the abuse in 2021 after she was asked to write about a “time of great difficulty in her life,” according to court documents.
While Hassan has no known criminal convictions, the compelling disclosure of abuse from the child victim in this case, coupled with the abuse of a trusted position, the court set a bail of $50,000 and requested a Sexual Assault Protection Order for the minor victim and an order prohibiting the defendant from having any contact with all minors.
