Jurors hear from girl who says she was molested by then-Pierce County teacher
A former Peninsula School District teacher watched inside a Pierce County courtroom Dec. 9 as a former fourth and fifth grade student recounted the times he allegedly groped and touched her inappropriately.
Jordan Roy Henderson, 36, has been charged with 12 counts of first-degree child molestation. He was initially charged with nine counts on April 19, 2024 after a two-month investigation. Three more charges were added a few months later in June, according to court records.
Four girls have alleged that Henderson sexually abused them or touched them inappropriately when they were in his Evergreen Elementary School class in Lakebay. The victims were as young as 10 at the time.
He began his career as a substitute teacher in 2013 at the Peninsula School District. The News Tribune reported that he later resigned.
Henderson sat next to his attorney, Brett Purtzer, wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt in Superior Court Judge Alicia Burton’s courtroom. There appeared to be family and supporters of Henderson’s sitting in the courtroom gallery.
One of the girls, now 12, said she first told an adult about the alleged abuse after Henderson permanently left his classroom due to the child-molestation investigation in March. She said she felt comfortable enough to tell her father, who told her mother. The girl’s mother then reported her daughter’s claims to police.
Deputy prosecutor Christine Dickson asked the girl about the times that Henderson allegedly touched her. She said it was typical of Henderson to touch her on the shoulders or hold her hand. At one point, she said, Henderson patted his leg so she could sit on his lap after she was having difficulty in class. She didn’t remember if he touched any other part of her body when she was on his lap.
The girl appeared to get emotional at times during her testimony. When Dickson asked her if any teacher she had before Henderson had held her hand or asked her to sit on their lap before, the girl said no.
The girl testified under questioning from Dickson that the first time Henderson allegedly touched her vaginal area outside her clothing was at her desk when she needed help with her classwork. She said the touching lasted until he was done helping her and that she felt “gross.” She also said in another instance she felt scared but didn’t know how to explain why she felt scared.
The girl said there would be no adults in the classroom anytime Henderson allegedly touched her. She said most of the time when he touched her, it would be when she needed help with work or in the library area. There was one time when he touched her bottom outside of class during an extra recess. The girl testified that Henderson walked her to a different area separate from most of the students, except one girl standing nearby. There were no adults around.
One time, the girl said, Henderson had a conversation with her and said that if she ever felt uncomfortable to tell him and said it was normal for a teacher “to do that.”
“I was taking it as it was normal for a teacher to touch you that way,” she said.
She said never told any adult until Henderson’s last day because she did not know if the touching was wrong.
The girl said she had seen Henderson touch another girl in her class and had seen that girl on his lap. She alleged that girl’s desk was closer to Henderson’s. The girl said witnessing Henderson’s action with another girl made her uncomfortable, and they would go to see a counselor during lunchtime, but she was not available.
The first time the girl spoke to another adult other than her parents it was with Stacey Lawrence, a child-forensic interviewer for the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Lawrence testified as the state’s first witness and said she interviewed some of the girls in Henderson’s class, including some alleged victims.
In Purtzer’s cross-examination of the girl, he brought out an easel and a large white paper for her to draw an outline of the classroom. The girl drew an outline in front of the jury, Purtzer and prosecutors.
After she took her seat, Purtzer asked the girl how many boys and girls were in the class, to which she said she did not remember the exact number.
Purtzer brought out a replica of a desk twice during the girl’s testimony. Once he asked her about who sat near her at her desk and the dynamics of the classroom. The girl said she did not remember specifically all the people who sat around her during Henderson’s class. She said there were some boys sitting in the same area and some girls.
Purtzer also asked if the touching occurred with five other students sitting next to her. The girl said she was not sure what the seating arrangement was at that time. At one point, the desks were separate from one another, she said.
The second time Purtzer brought out the replica desk, he asked the girl to sit down on the chair as she would in class, and she began to get emotional. He asked her specifics on if Henderson was crouching or standing and if one of the girls was sitting near her.
She maintained in her testimony that Henderson touched her every day from fourth grade until the last day he was at school during her fifth grade year.
Purtzer asked the girl if any of the boys who were in the classroom saw her being touched. She said she was not aware. When Purtzer asked if any of the girls brought up seeing the girl get touched, she said she did not recall but knew another girl saw it happen.
Purtzer pointed out the girl would regularly say, “I’m not sure,” to a lot of questions in her testimony. He asked her if it is because she doesn’t remember specific things occurring, to which the girl said, “Yes.”
Opening statements from prosecutors and defense
Before the girl’s testimony, deputy prosecutors and Purtzer delivered their opening statements to the jury.
“The defendant didn’t choose everyone, he chose girls. He chose certain girls. He had his favorites. He made them feel special,” deputy prosecutor Nate Zink said during his remarks.
Zink told the jury that Henderson chose to inappropriately touch some girls in his classroom and allowed the space to be chaotic, blurring boundaries. The first girl to testify said the classroom was usually “noisy.”
In his remarks, Zink briefly spoke on the experiences of a few girls, specifically the child who first reported the alleged abuse. He detailed how Henderson allegedly started touching the girl down to her buttocks and vaginal area after Valentine’s Day. Zink alleged the girl was too scared to say anything.
“Ultimately at the end of the trial it’ll be clear that the defendant chose to molest these girls,” Zink said. “In violating his position and trust as a teacher, and some cases as a father figure, to accomplish his desires.”
In his remarks, Purtzer said there was a lack of evidence to support the charges against Henderson.
“... because what you find is that these girls know each other, that was like the kind of collective one person makes a claim, and they all kind of jump in like the ‘Me Too’ movement of fourth and fifth graders,” Purtzer said.
Purtzer said Henderson’s classroom was an open space. The class had 24 students, and it was an interactive classroom. Teachers from other classes would also come in, Purtzer said. He said parents would occasionally come to the class, specifically one parent who taught the class art.
“Not one person ever, ever made a claim or statement that Mr. Henderson was touching any of these kids inappropriately at any point in time,” Purtzer said.
Purtzer said the jury will hear from Henderson as he will testify in his trial.
This story was originally published December 10, 2025 at 10:53 AM.
