Olympia School District Refuses to Cooperate with OPD on Sexual Abuse Case Involving Student
Teacher Jonathan Moore Groomed Student from 6th Grade
CORRECTION: I feel some of the connections made in this reporting could lead readers to the wrong conclusions. I apologize to my readers. I was sloppy in relying on a second hand source without reviewing the primary source documents.
The truth is, and this is not an excuse, I am in the middle of moving and supposed to be taking a break from reporting. I felt however this was an important story and thought it would be good to get it out there.
While the facts presented appear to be accurate, after reviewing the documents I am not convinced OSD knew about the sexual abuse before OPD contacted them.
While OSD could have handled the situation better, I am not sure they have been “overly deceptive.”
I thought about pulling this post but felt it would be better to leave up, with a correction, for transparency. I have written a more accurate piece.
The lesson learned is never to rush work. In general I am a long form reporter who takes her time to think about a piece in depth before writing. I try to use primary sources as much as possible.
I failed in this case. I cut corners and that is not acceptable. I promise to DOBETTER.
Thank you! It will not happen again.
Here is my original in depth reporting:
OSD Teacher Charged with Child Molestation
Jonathan Joseph Moore, a teacher at Capital High School in Olympia, WA, was arrested on February 23, 2023 for alleged Child Molestation in the Third Degree, Communications with A Minor for Immoral Purposes and Sexual Misconduct with a Minor in the Second Degree. OPD was contacted after the victim shared details with a 20-year-old co-worker, who then con…
In a story broken by Alesha Perkins of OSD Rescue, it appears the Olympia School District has tried to minimize a serious case of child abuse by a teacher, Jonathan Moore. After initially cooperating with OPD, the district required search warrants to turn over evidence. They only notified parents once the arrest of Moore was made public.
ALESHA PERKINS’ REPORT
Teacher Jonathan Moore Sexual Abuse Case Update:
I have received the official police report regarding this case. The details contained in this post are restating information from this report.
As I reported on 2/24/23, Jonathan Moore (teacher at Capital High) was arrested for the charges pictured below.
I will limit what detail I give about the alleged sexual abuse to the following...
The grooming/sexual abuse began from 6th grade at Jefferson through the victim’s Junior year at Capital. This abuse happened at school, on school grounds, both at Jefferson and Capital.
The details of the alleged sexual abuse were extremely difficult to read. I actually had to take several breaks due to the graphic and disturbing nature.
What is alleged is a relationship clearly in violation of any professional boundaries of a teacher, also sexual in nature for an extended period of time.
I am going to focus on the timeline of events, which I believe to be very concerning in terms of district action and communication.
The district did not contact law enforcement but chose to conduct their own private investigation.
It was never reported to OPD by the district, but ultimately came to light after a report by a third party.
Families were never notified about Moore, even after his termination, until Moore's arrest notification, forcing the district to issue a statement.
The district engaged in overtly deceptive communication and removed evidence that could reveal possible crimes.
They were not cooperative with the investigation (requiring search warrants for evidence).
Time frame and allegations:
2016: Moore began teaching at Jefferson Middle School
Victim 6-8th grade: Moore engaged in inappropriate professional boundaries with victim and other students.
Victim 9-10th grade: Victim continued to meet Moore at Jefferson Middle School. This period of time accelerated into sexual abuse at Jefferson Middle School.
9/2021: Moore moves to Capital High School.
Victim 11th grade: Abuse on school grounds at Capital continues in the media room where Moore teaches visual communication and design.
3/9/2022: Moore pulled from classes for 3 hours (no explanation given)
4/29/2022: Moore disappears from Capital and Principal Burke resigns the same day.
5/9/22: Moore returns to Capital to teach.
6/1/22: Moore placed on administrative leave due to “professional misconduct allegations with students”. During this time, the media room and equipment was limited, according to students.
6/15/22: Olympian does a story about potential “censorship” of the student journalists at Capital because they began to complain, thinking they were being censored from reporting for Koug TV.
**At no point was law enforcement contacted to investigate, nor were families informed of the concerns with this teacher**
8/11/22: An adult calls OPD to report potential sexual abuse by Moore. A friend of the victim came forward.
8/12/22: OPD goes to Capital to inform the administration of the allegations. The principal reveals that Moore is on administrative leave due to “previous professional misconduct allegations with students”. Says they will cooperate with LE.
8/17/22: Victim gives formal statement to OPD outlining the abuse in detail including the complete time frame and locations.
OPD continues investigation.
9/15/22: Moore is terminated.
9/21/22: OSD Dir. of Human Resources informs OPD that Moore has been terminated of employment due to professional misconduct with students which were handled internally with their own investigator. He informed that the school would not be providing OPD these internal investigation records based on advice from legal counsel. The officer was also informed that staff of the district cleaned out the classroom and removed cameras and other equipment, including those where sexual acts occurred. These cameras were installed prior to Moore taking over the classroom; however, the school advised they believed the cameras were “inoperable”.
The equipment was removed and stored at the district office on Bethel “before law enforcement was made aware of them, which did not now allow for photographs to be taken and the cameras to be collected in their original condition. Additionally, several USB/SD drives were located and secured in Capital High School Principal Lil Hunter’s office.”
The officer later went back to Capital High School and met with an administrator that did a walk through of the classroom. During this time, the administrator informed the officer of a time that he, along with the school principal, were conducting walk throughs of the school during a school dance. They found the light on in Moore’s classroom, where Moore was found alone with a student (name) around 2200-2300 hours in the back editing room.
When confronted, Moore told (admin) they were being recorded in the room. This comment led (admin) to believe the cameras were operable despite a previous statement from the district that they believed the camaras to be inoperable. The victim also stated that the cameras did indeed work and Moore would turn the cameras to avoid detection.
9/26/22: OSD Dir. of Human Resources informs OPD that they found an additional hidden USB drive taped under Moore’s desk when cleaning out his room.
However, the district would not provide any evidence without search warrants for cameras and other equipment, USD/SD cards, personnel records, or internal investigation records.
OPD obtained warrants for Capital High School and the main district office. With the warrants, they were able to retrieve the USB/SD drives located in Hunter’s office, the camera equipment/DVR system/etc… located in a Home Depot box at the district office, Moore’s personnel records, and the internal investigation records.
2/21/23: Probable cause existed for an arrest warrant.
2/23/23: Moore is arrested and charged.
2/24/23 10:35 a.m.: I report the arrest. Students begin sharing my post, seeming to force the district's hand in issuing a statement.
2/24/23 12:31 p.m.: Principal Hunter sends families a notification email that appears to have clear inconsistencies with what the district acknowledged in official record:
1. Email states, “based on conduct that is believed to have occurred outside of school hours with a student on or near district property and over the internet.”
2. Email states, “He was on leave…for matters separate from the causes attributed to yesterday’s arrest.”
3. Email states, “We want you to know that we are fully cooperating with law enforcement regarding this matter.”
As a parent of a child that was at Jefferson and Capital during this exact same time period (who also had a class with Moore) I am enraged that no notification went out regarding the known behavior of this teacher. I am also enraged that had a third party not reported the abuse to law enforcement, this appears to have been completely swept under the rug by the Olympia School District. Had it not been for OPD's investigation, Moore may have never faced charges at all and could go on to teach at other schools, victimizing other children.
I am once again flabbergasted by the Olympia School District.
I will continue to inform the public when and if I receive more information on this case.
Below is OSD policy on Professional Boundaries:
THIS CONCLUDES ALESHA PERKINS’ REPORTING
Candace Mercer is an artist/writer/activist based in Olympia, WA. She has written on homeless response and political violence in the PNW. In 2021, she ran for Olympia City Council. Her art can be found at candio.com.
Nice job reporting! I agree the School District looks very bad here. Potentially criminally bad, along the lines of failure of a mandated reporter to report, which is a gross misdemeanor:
https://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/home-and-community-services/mandatory-and-permissive-reporters#:~:text=Failure%20to%20Report,053%5D.
Even though the age of consent in WA is 16, it's still a crime under WA law for a teacher to have sexual activity with a student of any age up to 21.
https://vindicatelaw.com/sex-crimes/child-sexual-abuse/teacher-sex-abuse-of-a-student/#:~:text=Washington%20state%20law%20maintains%20that,a%20felony%20or%20gross%20misdemeanor.
So the degree of OSD's culpability comes down to "what did they know and when did they know it".
Really the only way there will likely be a "thorough investigation" is if the parents sue and keep attention on the case. Cops and DA would probably love to drop it otherwise, rather than prosecute school administrators.