Bainbridge Island police have arrested a 62-year-old male paraeducator on suspicion of taking indecent liberties with a 17-year-old mentally disabled female at a public pool.
Bainbridge Island School District leaders told authorities late Thursday that they suspected the Ferncliff Avenue man was having inappropriate sexual contact with the girl. A witness reported seeing the man touch the female student in a hot tub and in a swimming pool at the Bainbridge Island Aquatic Center.
The girl is a student in one of the classes in which the suspect serves as a classroom aid.
Investigators reviewed video surveillance tapes from the pool, which they said confirmed what the witness saw, according to a statement from the Bainbridge Island Police Department.
Investigators also learned the man is a caregiver to mentally challenged females that live in his residence.
On Friday around 7:30 p.m., police apprehended the man at his home as he tried to escape.
He refused to speak with investigators and was arrested on suspicion of taking indecent liberties.
He is being held on $500,000 bail.
Bainbridge school district spokeswoman Pam Keyes confirmed that the victim is a Bainbridge High School student.
The suspect has worked for the district for at least six years. He has no record of sexual misconduct with the district.
“This is absolutely the first incident,” Keyes said.
The Kitsap Sun is withholding the suspect’s name until he is formally charged.
I hope the school district is also investigating this, as I doubt this is the first time (or victim) for a sex offender such as this.