Jury delivers verdict for ex-Pierce County teacher accused of molesting students
A jury found a former elementary school teacher from the Peninsula School District guilty Jan. 5 of molesting four former students.
Jordan Roy Henderson faced 13 counts of first-degree child molestation after four of his former students from his fourth and fifth grade split class accused him of inappropriately touching or groping them. The jury spent part of Dec. 31, all of Jan. 2 and most of Monday morning, Jan. 5, deliberating the verdict in Henderson’s trial.
The jury found Henderson guilty on all but one count. They also returned special verdicts that found Henderson used his position of trust to commit the crimes.
Henderson, 36, was teaching at Evergreen Elementary School in Lakebay when the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office announced an investigation into allegations that were reported by students on Feb. 26, 2024. He was arrested and initially charged with nine counts of first-degree child molestation April 19. Three counts were added after a fourth student came forward. A thirteenth count was added during trial based on testimony.
Henderson pleaded not guilty to the charges and had been out on bail. He testified at trial and repeatedly denied touching the girls inappropriately.
More than two dozen people gathered in the courtroom’s gallery to hear the jury’s decision. One person quietly exclaimed, “Yes,” as the guilty verdicts were read, and another applauded.
After Superior Court Judge Alicia Burton read the jury’s verdict and a sentencing date was set for April 10, a sheriff’s deputy handcuffed Henderson. As he was led out of the room, supporters called out, “Love you, Jordan,” and, “Proud of you.” One person responded, “No, go to Hell, Jordan.”
Burton ordered that Henderson remain on a no-bail hold pending his sentencing hearing.
After court adjourned, deputy prosecuting attorney Nathan Zink told The News Tribune that Henderson will face a standard sentencing range of about 12-16 years to life. People convicted of sex crimes are given indeterminate sentences, meaning that once the minimum term is up, the defendant must petition the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board for release. The special verdicts jurors returned in Henderson’s case also mean prosecutors could seek a prison term beyond the standard range.
Zink said it was a tough case and that justice had been served. He said it was a good thing Henderson isn’t teaching anymore.
Zink and Henderson’s defense attorney, Brett Purtzer, spoke to jurors before they left. Both described how the jury panel seemed to latch onto trial testimony as the most important evidence. Zink recalled some of the emotions that came up on the stand.
“The emotion was very, I think, authentic for the girls of this age, who were able to keep it together for a large majority of their testimony,” Zink said. “But then when we start discussing the more difficult parts of this case, for one of them, she sat down in a chair from her school and completely melted down, and that was I think a highly impactful portion of this trial. At least it was for me.”
Purtzer said he was disappointed in the outcome. He said he thought jurors focused on the victims’ testimony to the point of excluding other aspects of the case he said created doubt. One former student, for example, testified that he didn’t see Henderson inappropriately touch anyone.
“I thought we had a shot,” Purtzer said.
Accusations against Henderson ranged from inappropriate touching of private areas of the alleged victim’s bodies in different areas of the class to it happening outside the room. According to charging documents, Henderson also was accused of threatening to find one of the girls’ homes if she asked him to stop touching her.
““It’s horrible. Like, I can’t sleep without crying. I fall asleep crying, and I can’t look at a school building without getting triggered,” one of the girls said during Henderson’s arraignment last year. “I’m scared he’s gonna come back.”
Throughout Henderson’s case, he was supported by his family and church. Henderson was a deacon at the Wellspring Fellowship Church in Key Peninsula where his father is the pastor. After Henderson was charged, the church made a Facebook post detailing its support.
Defense points to ‘Lack of evidence’
Purtzer, said in his opening remarks Dec. 9 there was a lack of evidence to convict the former teacher, describing the case as the “Me Too” movement of fourth and fifth graders.
Purtzer said the classroom was an open, interactive space and other adults such as teachers or parents would come in and out. Purtzer spent time in the trial presenting photos and videos of the classroom to show that anyone could see what was going on in the room.
“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.
Prosecutors said Henderson purposefully allowed his classroom to be chaotic and noisy while blurring boundaries. He chose certain girls, Zink said in opening statements, and made them feel special. He said the first girl to report the alleged touching was previously too scared to say anything.
One of the alleged victims testified in the trial that the touching happened every day from when she was in fourth to fifth grade. She said he would touch her shoulders or hold her hand. The first time Henderson allegedly touched her vaginal area was when she was sitting at her desk and needed help.
Henderson denies sexually touching students
As one of the last defense witnesses, Henderson took the stand to testify his innocence. He denied letting any girl sit on his lap, and he said if one tried to then he’d brush them off.
Henderson was asked about some of the girls, and he spoke on the issues they faced in his class — whether it was learning challenges, anxiety or internal drama they had with one another.
During cross-examination, Zink asked pointedly if Henderson had ever touched any of his students on specific areas of the body such as the thigh, breast area or bottom, and he said he did not.
A paraeducator who is a mother of one of Henderson’s former students testified that she never saw anything concerning when she would go into his classroom.
This story was originally published January 5, 2026 at 1:48 PM.
