State Supreme Court upholds molestation, kidnapping convictions of former Tacoma teacher
A unanimous state Supreme Court rejected an appeal by former school teacher Jennifer Leigh Rice and upheld her conviction for child molestation and kidnapping.
Rice, a fourth grade teacher in Tacoma, had argued that the so-called special allegations against her _ that she was predatory in her molestation and later kidnapping with sexual motivations a 10-year-old student and deserved a longer sentence – was a violation of the separation of powers. That’s because the legislature was mandating that prosecutors charge those crimes with special allegations, removing the discretion allowed the executive branch.
