Pierce County prosecutors have charged a Tacoma middle school teacher with having sex with a student in her classroom and the boy’s bedroom five years ago.
Keshia T. Shaw, who taught science and math at Gray Middle School, faces five counts of second-degree child rape. The 32-year-old woman was charged June 26 and has yet to enter a plea. She is scheduled to appear in court July 10.
The allegations surfaced in May after the boy, now 17, listened to a church sermon about molestation and then told his mother he had been abused.
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Lindquist said the victim felt compelled to tell somebody after the pastor urged victims of sexual abuse to disclose it because “The truth will set you free.”
The abuse is alleged to have happened three or four times between April 2007 and December 2008.
Tacoma Public Schools spokesman Dan Voelpel said Monday that the district learned of the accusations May 7 and immediately placed Shaw on paid leave, where she remains.
Police said it’s too early to know whether there were other victims.
“Right now, we have just the one victim,” spokesman Mark Fulghum said. “We don’t know about other students. Who knows, this may bring other victims forward.”
According to charging documents:
Shaw was the boy’s sixth-grade teacher, and he stayed after class one day at the end of the year to retake a test. Shaw, who was not wearing underwear, sat in front of the boy as he worked on the exam and, after catching him looking, asked whether he was turned on. She then took the boy into a room next to her classroom, where they had sex.
“After they finished, the defendant told (the victim) not to tell,” documents state.
A week later, the boy stayed after school and they had intercourse.
The next encounter came in July, when Shaw gave the boy a ride home from summer school. They had sex in his bedroom while his mother was at work.
After completing sixth grade, the boy went to another school. He did not see Shaw again until eighth grade, when he ran away from home and went to visit friends at Gray.
He had sex with Shaw in her classroom that day. They then went to a bank parking lot, where Shaw gave the boy $80 before performing oral sex on him.
That was the last time the victim saw Shaw.
She began working as a substitute teacher in Tacoma in 2002 and was hired full-time at Gray in 2005, Voelpel said.
According to court records, Shaw and her husband separated in July 2010 and she filed for divorce in February. They have two children, ages 6 and 8.
stacia.glenn@ thenewstribune.com 253-597-8653
Staff writer Debbie Caffazo contributed to this report.
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