June 14, 2006
By Kevin Hanson
The Courier-Herald
A former White River High School teacher will appear in Pierce County Superior Court Thursday, being arraigned on charges stemming from her alleged sexual contact with a student.
Rebekah M. Todd, 24, came to White River High in the fall of 2004, hired as a physical education and health teacher. During her short and stormy stint with the district, she was placed on administrative leave (with pay) three times, each stemming from questionable behavior and alleged lapses in professional judgment.
Todd faces charges of both first degree and second degree sexual misconduct with a minor; the first charge is a felony, the other a gross misdemeanor. The charges can be brought when the student is 16 or 17 and the teacher is at least five years older than the student.
Todd's troubles began last spring, near the end of the 2004-05 academic year. She allegedly attended an off-campus graduation party where alcohol was being consumed - by both students and adults - and, while at the party, was discovered kissing a student. She was placed on leave and was absent from the building the final few days of the school year.
School officials, stating no inappropriate behavior could be proved, brought Todd back for the current year.
She was placed on administrative leave a second time when it was discovered she had shown an inappropriate DVD to students in an aerobics class. Principal Dan Anderson said the DVD featured celebrity Carmen Electra and was ostensibly “a workout video.” The content went beyond what most would expect from an aerobics lesson, however, including a simulated “lap dance,” according to the principal.
“It was certainly not a thing to be shown in a high school aerobics class,” Anderson said.
Todd served her punishment, he said, and had agreed to resign her teaching position at the end of the year.
Everything changed in early February when school officials were investigating a large party that involved alcohol and questioning students who might have attended. During a conversation with an assistant principal, one student asked why such a big deal was being made over a party when “everyone knows” Todd had performed a sex act on a student.
School officials notified the Pierce County Sheriff's Department and called the student's parents. The student confirmed the allegations, noting the sex act had taken place in March 2005 and acknowledged the two were kissing at the graduation party three months later.
Todd was immediately placed on administrative leave for a third time and, soon after, had her contract terminated by the school board.
Kevin Hanson can be reached at khanson@courierherald.com.
