Middle school teacher charged with raping 13-year-old student
KENT, Wash. - A teacher at Totem Middle School has been charged with raping a student multiple times in his classroom almost five years ago.
According to charging documents, Glenfield Watkins was 55 years old when he allegedly began a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old female student. The student told her mentor years later during a recent mentoring session, police said in charging documents.
The victim said it all started when she was a student in his math class and sat in the front. She said he was always staring at her, and later when she asked him why he said he liked her.
That's when the student started visiting Watkins in his classroom before school and after school almost every day, investigators said. The sexual acts started with groping and kissing then later moved on to oral sex.
Watkins denied having a sexual relationship with the child when interviewed by detectives, but the student reportedly had saved text messages showing the nature of their relationship.
Watkins has been charged with three counts of rape of a child in the second degree. His arraignment is July 9, and prosecutors have requested a $100,000 bond.
The Federal Way School District released the following statement in response to Watkin' charges:
In April 2020, potentially criminal allegations were reported to Federal Way Public Schools district staff regarding a Totem staff member. The district immediately contacted the police and Child Protective Services and placed the employee on leave while police conducted their investigation. King County Prosecutors recently notified the district that charges have been filed against the Totem staff member related to sexual misconduct with a student.
We take allegations like these very seriously. The district took immediate action steps and are cooperating with law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation. The student who reported the allegations was connected with support resources.
Federal Way Public Schools’ hiring process requires every employee complete and pass a Federal Bureau of Investigation and Washington State Patrol fingerprint and background check. All staff are required to take harassment, intimidation and bullying training annually, and every year we train employees on appropriate staff and student boundaries. All staff are made aware of our professional conduct policy.
Student safety is and always will be our number one priority. We take every precaution possible to secure the safety of our students.
If anyone has any information that may be helpful to police, they should contact Detective Steve Kelly with the Kent Police Department at 253-856-5800.