Mukilteo Police investigating claims of sexual misconduct by former Kamiak High School employee

MUKILTEO, Wash. — Mukilteo Police are investigating claims of sexual misconduct by a former employee of Kamiak High School.

Principal Stephen Shurtleff sent an email to families on Wednesday to address the investigation, saying the employee was placed on leave when the allegations surfaced.

Shurtleff said the person no longer works for the school or the district.

He believes the former employee has yet to be charged.

The following message was sent to families of Kamiak students on Wednesday:

Dear Kamiak families,

Today, many in our school community learned of an active police investigation of a former Kamiak employee. We are working to support an investigation being conducted by the Mukilteo Police Department into allegations of sexual misconduct by the former employee. To protect student privacy and the investigation process, we are limited with what we are sharing at this time. However, I am able to share that the employee named in the investigation was placed on leave as soon as the allegations surfaced and is no longer employed at Kamiak or in our district. It is my understanding that the former employee has not been charged.

I need to ask for the support of our families with two important lessons in moments like these. The first request is about what kinds of talk we don’t want to see in our Kamiak school community. We will protect the dignity and safety of our whole school community when we refrain from gossip, speculation, and spreading rumors. Anyone can imagine how hurtful it would be for a young person to be subject to a rumor swirling around them while they are trying to go to school.

The second request is about what kinds of talk we do want to encourage at Kamiak in a moment like this. We want students to show they care. If they see a student struggling – or they are, themselves, struggling – we want them to be encouraged to connect with help, like their school counselor. Also, we want students with information about the investigation to feel comfortable and supported in bringing that information forward to administrators here at Kamiak. Students can also share information through the safety tip reporting tool, which can be submitted anonymously.  This connects to a big lesson we are teaching our students all the time: if you see something, say something.

At Kamiak, we have a long history of working through significant challenges. While this moment is especially difficult, I believe we will work through this together as we end our school year well.

Stephen J. Shurtleff - Principal, Kamiak High School

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