A former teacher in the Kent and Renton school districts pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor for having sexual conduct with a 17-year-old male student in June when she was a teacher at Garfield High School in Seattle.
Taryn M. Fairbanks, 34, will be sentenced April 8 before Judge Greg Canova at the King County Courthouse in Seattle, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The charge of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor is a Class C felony with a sentence range of six to 12 months in jail. Fairbanks was booked into custody Thursday at the county jail in Seattle where she will remain until her sentencing.
Fairbanks, previously known as Taryn Stermer, had pleaded not guilty at her arraignment in July. Fairbanks resigned in June from Garfield and moved in July to Las Vegas to live with her family.
The age of consent for a sexual relationship is 16 in Washington state. But prosecutors charged Fairbanks with sexual misconduct because she is at least five years older than the under 18-year-old student, not married to him and abused a supervisory position in order to engage in sexual activity, according to charging papers.
Fairbanks admitted to a Seattle Police detective that she had oral sex with the 17-year-old male student on June 23 in the basement bedroom of his home, according to court documents.
The teacher also told the detective that she had an issue with alcohol and was in the midst of an alcohol relapse at the time of the incident.
Fairbanks told police she had stopped at the student’s house to drop off T-shirts and supplies for a school newspaper retreat.
Detectives were given an anonymous tip June 29 about the alleged sexual activity between the teacher and the 17-year-old student.
Fairbanks taught language arts at Garfield and was an advisor for the school newspaper, The Messenger. She taught at Garfield since 2006 after previous teaching jobs in Renton and Kent.
Fairbanks, then known as Taryn Stermer, taught from 2001 to 2004 at Kentlake High School, said a Kent School District official. She taught from 2004 to 2006 at Lindbergh High School, said a Renton School District spokesman.
There was no known history of sexual misconduct between Fairbanks and her students prior to June 2010, according to court documents.
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