A 38-year-old former Mount Tahoma High School teacher pleaded not guilty Friday to having sex with an 18-year-old student.
Veronica Chantel Dawkins entered the not guilty plea in Pierce County Superior Court to eight counts of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor.
It is illegal in Washington for a teacher to have sex with a student, even if the student is of the age of consent.
The presiding judge in the case released Dawkins without bail, but ordered her to have no contact with the student.
She is also barred from having unsupervised contact with her two minor children, who are living with their father.
Dawkins resigned from her teaching post this week after the school became aware of the allegations against her.
According to court records filed in the case, the 18-year-old student told detectives that he and Dawkins began a consensual sexual relationship in December that continued through January.
He said Dawkins did not coerce him into having sex or take advantage of him, but that the feelings between them were “mutual.”
“The relationship didn’t just materialize out of thin air. It developed. She’s a great teacher – very inspirational,” the student said, according to court records.
He said they decided to stop the relationship because it wasn’t right.
“It was spiritual. We talked. We weren’t proud of it. It’s a sin. We had guilt,” he said.
He told detectives he and Dawkins felt their actions were sinful because she is married and has two children.
According to court documents, Dawkins told detectives she wanted to be truthful and admitted having sex with the student on several occasions.
She said she knew the student was 18 years old, but that she forgot it “by the conversations we have.”
She said they had sex together at the student’s residence, where he lives alone, and also outdoors at a local park.
She told detectives she wanted to end the relationship after a few weeks because she was feeling guilty.
Dawkins has taught at Hunt Middle School and later at Mount Tahoma High School.
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