Police arrested a 33-year-old Bellevue teacher for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a student on Nov. 7, following a complaint received the day before.
Patrick J. Colgan, an Interlake High School teacher, was booked into King County Jail on Nov. 7 for sexual misconduct with a minor and communication with a minor for immoral purposes, and released the following day on a $10,000 bond. He was charged Thursday, Nov. 13, with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor in King County Superior Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed with the charge, the alleged victim told police Colgan began sending her sexually explicit emails in March, asking her to “engage in sex acts with him,” the report states.
Colgan reportedly made sexual contact with the student outside a Kirkland coffee shop in May, and the two exchanged sexually explicit emails until the student broke off the relationship in June, according to the report, which adds Colgan continued to send the student emails from June to October.
Police interviewed Colgan at Interlake High School on Nov. 7, where the report states Colgan identified the student as the cause of the investigation and then declined to answer a detective’s questions. Bellevue Police Ofc. Seth Tyler told the Reporter Friday the case remains active and the BPD will not be releasing additional information at this time. The BPD announced the arrest on Friday.
Interlake High School Principal Maria Frieboes-Gee issued a letter to students and families on Friday, which stated “We have been informed of a criminal investigation by Bellevue Police involving an Interlake teacher and a minor. District practice is to place staff on administrative leave pending an ongoing investigation. At this time the teacher is on administrative leave. We will continue to cooperate with Bellevue Police as they investigate the allegations.”
With no classes held Nov. 10 or 11, in observance of Veterans Day, the district and principal decided to wait to release information about the allegation until after Colgan had been charged so as not to intervene in the ongoing investigation, a Bellevue School District spokesperson said.
This week teachers and staff did their best to keep things “business as usual,” and extra counselors were on hand at each of the schools Colgan had taught at in the past three years in case students wanted to talk with someone, Elizabeth Sytman, Bellevue School District director of communications said.
“There is a lot of benefit to maintain the regular school day so that all students and staff are provided a stable and predictable routine,” she said.
Colgan joined the district during the 2010/2011 school year at Newport High School on a one-year contract. He signed a similar contract the following year at Sammamish High School before joining Interlake last year.
Sytman said it was “standard” for teachers on one-year contracts to accept a different position if one has opened up.
Each of the counselors, who are all mandatory reporters, state none of the students they had met with as of Monday had reported any other inappropriate conduct involving Colgan.
The district is also examining ways to better protect students from situations such as the allegations against Colgan. One of the ways currently being discussed is how to share board policies and procedures with students and parents.
