Ex-Kentwood High teacher gets one year sentence for sex crime

A judge sentenced a former Kentwood High School teacher to a suspended sentence of 364 days in jail, as long as he fulfills two years of probation, for a sex crime with a student.

King County Superior Court Judge Taki Flevaris sentenced Steve A. Bilvais on June 27 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. Bilvais pleaded guilty May 7 to communication with a minor for immoral purposes with a female student from 2017 t0 2019.

Bilvais is on probation for 24 months with the first 12 months to be supervised by the state Department of Corrections, according to court documents. He must obtain a sexual deviancy evaluation within 30 days of sentencing and follow all recommendations, and successfully complete treatment. He also agreed to a lifetime sexual assault protection order should the victim seek one. Restitution includes all medical expenses for the victim, including counseling and/or therapy.

Bilvais also is ordered to have no contact with minors with the exception of his biological daughter, and he must register as a sex offender. The judge followed the recommendation of county prosecutors.

This resolution was discussed with the victim before it was offered, and the victim in this case indicated she was OK moving forward with a conviction for communication with a minor for immoral purposes, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors originally charged Bilvais with first-degree sexual misconduct.

“On or about a period between Oct. 1, 2017 and June 10, 2019, with intent to reach a minor, did communicate with (a then-17-year-old female student), a child under the age of 18 years, for an immoral purpose of a sexual nature,” Bilvais wrote in his guilty plea.

Bilvais abused a supervisory position with a female student who was 17 years old at the start of a relationship that reportedly went from October 2017 to June 2019, according to charging documents. Kentwood High School is in Covington and part of the Kent School District.

A King County Sheriff’s Office detective opened an investigation after a woman called in June 2024 to report a sexual relationship with a teacher of hers from several years prior, according to charging papers. The woman claimed they had sexual intercourse over a two-year period, sometimes at his Auburn residence and other times at her former Covington residence.

A detective asked the woman why she was coming forward in June 2024 about this. She said it took a long time to process the love she had for him, according to charging documents. She slowly started to realize the gravity of the situation. She started to go to therapy in February 2024 and was thinking of the “moral obligation” she had to report this since Bilvais “holds a position of power” and he “abused it.” She doesn’t want this to happen to other girls.

The woman said Bilvais was her algebra teacher her freshman year at Kentwood in 2015. She said everything was professional her first two years. Things began to change when she took a job as a babysitter for his daughter. She said they would flirt with each other at his house after babysitting.

She said the relationship went from kissing to intercourse in October 2017, according to charging documents. She said they talked about getting married and having kids.

About November 2019 their relationship ended. The woman said it was amicable and that he understood she needed to do her own things in life.

Bilvais reportedly purchased a lot of clothes for the girl as well as a necklace and ring. Detectives discovered a box of the woman’s items at her parents home that reportedly included the necklace and ring he bought her and copies of checks Bilvais wrote to her for babysitting.

The girl showed detectives photos of herself taken with Bilvais after she turned 18, according to charging papers. A few of the photos were of them kissing and posing together.