Teacher, Sequim native, accused of sex acts with her students in Tacoma

Meredith Claire Powell is shown during her court hearing Friday in Tacoma. —McClatchy News Service photo

Meredith Claire Powell is shown during her court hearing Friday in Tacoma. —McClatchy News Service photo

TACOMA — A Sequim High School graduate and former Sequim substitute teacher has been charged with the third-degree rape of two her high school students in Tacoma as well as sexual conversation with a former student, and ordered to return to her hometown.

Meredith Claire Powell, 24, pleaded not guilty Friday in Pierce County Superior Court to the rape charges and to one count of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes after her arrest Thursday in Tacoma.

The students were between 14 and 16 years old, Superior Court records say.

Powell, a mathmatics teacher at Lincoln High School in the Tacoma School District since September 2012, was released on her own recognizance and ordered to stay with her mother in Sequim.

She is set to appear in Pierce County Superior Court on Feb. 25.

Prosecutors say Powell admitted to Tacoma police that she had sexual contact with two of her students between Jan. 17 and 24.

They allege that on Jan. 17, one student went to Powell’s Lincoln High School classroom instead of attending an assembly and the two kissed and “engaged in sexual activity.”

A few days later, Powell is accused of performing oral sex on another teen.

Prosecutors allege Powell sent a teen a photo of herself naked in a bathtub.

They say she told police she sent a third student an inappropriate text message, for which she later apologized to the student.

Powell told police she knew what she had done was wrong and that she would apologize to the students’ parents if she had the chance, according to Superior Court records.

The court ordered that she must have no contact with the three students involved or minors.

Tacoma School District spokesman Dan Voelpel said Powell was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday after the district had received an anonymous tip the day before alleging that Powell had had inappropriate sexual contact with students.

The leave became unpaid after her arrest by Tacoma police, Voelpel said, adding that district officials immediately told police about the tip.

“Until the criminal case is concluded, she will remain on unpaid leave,” Voelpel said.

Powell grew up in Sequim, graduating from Sequim High School in 2007, and attended Olympic Peninsula Academy, a Sequim School District program providing educational materials and facilities for home-schooled children, according to information gleaned from Sequim High School yearbooks for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

In her senior year, Powell was vice president of the school’s honor society, according to the yearbook information, and was a member of the school’s swim and golf teams throughout high school in addition to being a member of various other clubs.

Kelly Shea, superintendent of the Sequim School District, said Powell worked as a substitute teacher at Sequim High in the spring of 2012.

Shea said he has no record of student complaints against her.

A person is guilty of rape of a child in the third degree when the person has sexual intercourse with another who is between 14 and 16 years old, is not married to the perpetrator, and the perpetrator is at least 48 months older than the victim.

It is a class C felony.

A “Free Powell” Facebook page was created some time after her arrest and had accumulated 405 “likes” as of Saturday morning.

________

Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.

Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Rear Admiral Charles E. Fosse, right, U.S. Coast Guard District 13 commander, was the guest speaker at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Port Angeles’ annual Veterans Day celebration on Monday. Chaplain Mike VanProyen, left, and Kelly Higgins, the commanding officer at Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles, also participated in the ceremony. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
Hundreds gather in Port Angeles to honor service members

High school band, choral groups highlight event

Former Marine Joseph Schwann of Port Townsend smiles as he receives a Quilt of Valor from Kathy Darrow, right, and another member of Quilts of Valor during the Veterans Day event at the American Legion Marvin G. Shields Memorial Post 26 in Port Townsend on Monday. Group leader Kathey Bates, left, was the emcee of the event. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Quilts of Valor

Former Marine Joseph Schwann of Port Townsend smiles as he receives a… Continue reading

Port Townsend ethics complaint dismissed

Officer examines argument on open meetings

Friends of the Library to host annual meeting

The Port Angeles Friends of the Library will conduct… Continue reading

Peninsula College to stage ‘The Thanksgiving Play’

Peninsula College will present its production of “The Thanksgiving… Continue reading

Ceramic sculpture “Flora-Fauna” by Thomas Connery.
Library to host reception for ‘Second Look’ exhibition

The North Olympic Library System will host a reception… Continue reading

Sequim City Council members finalized through their consent agenda to ban the sale of fireworks effective October 2025. They held a public hearing last month that garnered mostly support for the ban. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Sequim finalizes ban on fireworks

Ordinance change will go into effect next October

Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group
Rich Krebsbach, manager of the Highland Irrigation District, asks questions of Rhiana Barkie, Clallam County public works project coordinator. The map is one of four new options for the Dungeness Off-Channel Reservoir project. Public input is being taken through the county’s website at https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/188/Dungeness-Off-Channel-Reservoir-Project.
Sequim reservoir project draws crowd, questions

Clallam County, FEMA public comment period open through Nov. 21

Christmas gift inspires playground cleanup

Veteran volunteer collects playground metal

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading

World War II veteran Arthur Bradow, right, and his daughter Barbara Cason admire a quilt sewn by his niece for his 100th birthday on Dec. 13. Bradow served in the Merchant Marine in the Pacific Theater of Operations and stateside in the U.S. Army Air Forces. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
Veteran has 100 years’ worth of experience

Looks back at long life and wealth of knowledge

Veterans Day ceremonies set

Organizations across the Peninsula will conduct a variety of services in observance… Continue reading