The former Stadium High School security officer facing allegations of sexual misconduct with two Stadium students was disciplined by Tacoma Public Schools when he worked at another Tacoma high school, records show.
Donte D. Lipscomb, 31, was charged Jan. 30 in Pierce County Superior Court in connection with the Stadium incidents. He pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor.
Public records released by the school district Thursday show that Lipscomb had been disciplined in 2009 for an unrelated incident that occurred in late 2008, while he worked as a security officer at Oakland Alternative High School.
According to records, Lipscomb gave a female Oakland student a ride home without permission from the girl’s parents and without reporting it to the school. While not a crime, such actions are against district procedures.
The girl said “nothing happened” and that Lipscomb just gave her rides home, according to records. Lipscomb said he only did so on one occasion.
After that incident came to light, the district suspended Lipscomb for three days without pay, ordered him to participate in one-on-one training on maintaining appropriate boundaries with students and moved him to a new job at Stadium in March 2009.
School district attorney Shannon McMinimee said Thursday the district thoroughly investigated the Oakland incident. At the time, Lipscomb told officials he did not realize giving students a ride home was a problem.
“He agreed to receive training. He expressed ignorance of expected protocols,” McMinimee said.
She said that the suspension without pay was a strong sanction, especially for a first offense.
School records released Thursday also offered new details in the more recent Stadium allegations. According to those records:
A Stadium student said Lipscomb and she began a sexual relationship when she was 16 and that it had ended the following year, when she was a junior. The girl said he called her out of class and that she made “regular trips to his office” for the purpose of performing sexual acts.
She said she began feeling guilty after learning that Lipscomb was married and a father. The girl, now a senior, decided in January to tell a trusted adult about the relationship. The adult and the girl then talked to school officials.
The records also allege Lipscomb tried to pressure Stadium students not to come forward with information.
Lipscomb is accused by prosecutors of sexual misconduct with two Stadium students. According to school district records, the first student named another student that she believed was also having a sexual relationship with Lipscomb. The second student was later interviewed by Tacoma police.
The Tacoma School Board fired Lipscomb Feb. 9. He had been employed by the district since 2006.
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635
debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
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