UPDATE | Bainbridge police chief: Evidence seized during search of teacher’s home was key to investigation

Published 8:49 pm Thursday, May 7, 2015

Bainbridge Police Chief Matthew Hamner said the department’s investigation against a 25-year-old female schoolteacher accused of sex with an underage male student at Bainbridge High resulted in an arrest after the Washington State Patrol completed its review of electronic devices that were seized when the teacher’s home was searched.

The results of the WSP analysis of those electronic devices — Hamner said he could not yet elaborate on the items — was received by the department earlier this week.

Jessica M. Fuchs, 25, was arrested approximately 72 hours later.

Fuchs, a first-year teacher at Bainbridge High, was charged late Thursday with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, a felony, tampering with a witness, a felony, and communication with a minor for immoral purposes, a gross misdemeanor. She was booked into Kitsap County Jail Thursday evening on $100,000 bail.

The investigation started soon after administrators at Bainbridge High told police about the allegations of improper conduct between a teacher and a student that they had heard the day before.

Though police initially estimated the investigation would be over in less than two weeks, it stretched on for nearly 12.

The evidence seized at Fuchs’ home were central to the case, Hamner said.

Roughly 10 days after the allegations surfaced, police obtained a search warrant “and obtained items we needed to examine,” Hamner said.

“We really couldn’t do a lot until we got the evidence back,” he said.

Hamner also said the case was thoroughly reviewed by legal experts before charges were filed Thursday.

Bainbridge police submitted a probable cause statement to the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office, and Hamner said a Kitsap County Superior Court judge also reviewed the results of the investigation.

“We took our time. We had this reviewed by the prosecutor’s office, we had it reviewed by a judge to make sure the facts supported the charges,” he said.

The judge found probable cause and an arrest warrant was issued.

Fuchs was arrested at her Bainbridge home at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

“She went cooperatively,” Hamner said.

Bainbridge police launched an investigation into allegations involving a teacher who had inappropriate contact with a student in late February.

Hamner would not provide details on the allegations of the sexual relationship and who initially alerted administrators at the high school.

He also could not immediately say how many people, including other students or the teenage victim, were interviewed during the investigation.

Police did say Thursday that there was only one student victim.

Hamner said the investigation would not be officially complete until the case went to trial.

“We did a very thorough investigation and I’m confident that the facts that we have support the actions that we took,” he added.

Hamner also praised the work of his officers on the sensitive case, and especially called out Officer Aimee LaClaire, who took the lead on the investigation.

“I’m very proud of my officers and how they conducted themselves throughout the investigation,” he said.

“She was very, very thorough and used good judgement,” Hamner said of LaClaire.

“Just hat’s off to her for taking a tough investigation and being very diligent, very dedicated to the job,” Hamner said.

“There are no winners in this. It’s sad,” he added.

“You hope this kind of thing never happens. And when it does you have to take the steps we took and I think they were necessary to take.”