New charge for Tacoma teacher accused of having sex with students
Apr 4, 2014, 12:05 PM | Updated: 12:33 pm
A 24-year-old former Tacoma high school teacher who’s already accused of having sexual contact with two students is facing a new charge.
A third student is saying he was molested by Meredith Powell at Lincoln High School last year, bringing the total counts of sexual misconduct to four.
“The mother of one of the defendant’s students heard news reports about this case and she talked to her son about it because he had been acting strange and saying that he wanted to transfer schools,” Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist told KIRO Radio.
Lindqist said that the student went to Powell’s classroom for extra help with math last year.
The then-17-year-old junior told Powell he would do anything to help get his grade up. Powell allegedly used that opportunity to engage in a sexual act.
According to court documents, Powell did not have intercourse with any of the victims.
Powell, a math teacher with the Tacoma School District since 2012, resigned after the first allegations surfaced. She turned over her teaching certificate after her Feb. 6 arrest.
If convicted Powell faces up to 5 years in prison for each charge.
“Typically, people do less,” said Lindquist.
