Jennifer Leigh Rice came to her first teaching job with a 3.46 GPA from Seattle Pacific University and “excellent recommendations,” according to records obtained Wednesday by The News Tribune.
Within six months, Rice, then 23, was placed on administrative leave from her job at Spanaway Lake High School after being accused of attending a party where students were drinking alcohol and smoking pot; giving students rides in her car despite being warned not to; and making “verbal advances toward (a) male student,” according to her personnel file.
Nine years and two teaching jobs later, Rice, now 31, is charged with the sexually motivated kidnapping of a 10-year-old boy she taught at Tacoma’s McKinley Elementary School.
She’s pleaded not guilty and was being held in the Pierce County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Pierce County deputy prosecutor Mary Robnett said Wednesday that she anticipates filing more charges against Rice, who reportedly told detectives she had sex with the boy as many as five times.
One of those liaisons occurred at a highway rest stop outside Ellensburg over the weekend after Rice abducted the boy from his home, according to court documents.
Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said Wednesday that detectives are investigating whether there are other victims.
The Tacoma School District, her latest employer, requested this week that the state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction launch an investigation into Rice’s conduct, agency spokesman Nathan Olson said Wednesday.
Tacoma school officials were apprised of at least some of Rice’s problems at Spanaway Lake High not long after they hired her in October 2006, according to Bethel School District records released to The News Tribune as part of a public records request.
Those troubles began in February 1999, when district administrators received reports that she was inappropriately fraternizing with students and had “a thing” for one of the male students in the Spanish club she supervised, according to records from her personnel file.
One student, a girl, told district administrators that Rice showed up at a February 1999 party at a student’s house where alcohol and marijuana were being used, according to the records.
Rice walked into a back bedroom where the girl was lying on a bed with a male student and asked the boy if he was sexually aroused, according to the records. Rice later denied making that statement.
A different male student told district administrators that Rice had called him at least twice at his home and once at a friend’s house.
The student said Rice “says she likes him, and he has perceived that she would like to be romantically involved with him,” according to district records.
Rice later told administrators that she had called the boy and been to his home but had no romantic interest in him, a report in her personnel file states.
Rice spent the rest of the 1999 school year on leave before resigning, district records state.
Responding to a reference request from Tacoma district officials last year, Bethel human resources director Judy Borgia sent a letter to her counterpart in the Tacoma district, Bonnie McGuire, on Nov. 20, according to Bethel records.
Borgia notified McGuire that she had signed off on the Washington State Sexual Misconduct Disclosure Release for Rice – which meant Rice was not found to have violated any laws or rules governing sexual misconduct – but she asked McGuire to call her regarding “another issue documented in (Rice’s) employment file,” according to the letter.
Borgia did not specify in her letter what the issue was.
A later note entered in Bethel’s files shows that Tacoma deputy superintendent Ethelda Burke and district human resources manager Chantana Yuong met with Rice on Dec. 18, 2006, to discuss her resignation from Spanaway Lake High.
The note mentions that Bethel notified Tacoma officials of Rice’s attendance at the student party and her transportation of students in her car.
The note did not mention anything about Rice’s alleged romantic advances toward the one student.
Burke warned Rice not to attend student parties or drive students around in her car, according to the note.
Rice was placed on administrative leave from her job at McKinley in April 2007 for inappropriately socializing with students, Tacoma spokeswoman Leanna Albrecht said this week.
Rice was forced to resign as an elementary school teacher with Yelm Community Schools, where she worked during the 2005-2006 school year.
Posters on the Tribune’s site are divided on whether or not the school district is to blame.
People are so quick to yell and scream at school districts. Why would a school district not want to protect their students? If they thought she was capable, for a second, of creating a relationship with a ten year old boy, do you honestly think they would go ahead and hire her? These people have dedicated their lives to students–and would always put their well-being first if they thought that a student could be in trouble. She hit on an 18 year old student when she was 23 and a brand new teacher. An investigation went under and she was found not to have violated any sexual laws towards that student. How then, would Tacoma have known that she would try and take up with a 10 year old boy 8 years later? If they thought for a second that she would be out to hurt a child, she would not be working there. As soon as they thought things weren’t right, she was put on leave–BEFORE this happened with the boy. Do you think that they for a second don’t wish that this had never happened to that boy? She, on her own accord, continued contact with this boy when she no longer was with Tacoma Schools. They took her out of the situation, they took her away from those kids, Jennifer Rice kept it going. She was not still teaching these students and in class when this happened. She is the horrible woman that did this–JENNIFER RICE.
Jennifer Rice is to blame. She is the sick woman that did this. She is the one that took advantage of this little boy. It is awful that this wasn’t stopped before hand–but some things are out of another’s control. Her behavior was brought to the attention of the school district, and her past behavior did not prove that she had a history of molesting little boys. Blame Jennifer Rice, hope she goes to jail for the rest of her life, put the anger where it is due.
Public schools were very good to me. I never felt in danger and felt completely protected throughout all my schooling. Horrible things happen…THIS is one of those horrible things that was not forseen. Public schools take in our children every year and in 99.9% of these cases they are protected, loved, and nurtured. Very rarely does something like this happen.
It happens all too often, IMO. What do you think? Did the district heed their own warnings? Was Rice given a free pass because she’s a woman?
Jennifer Rice, the 31-year-old Tacoma teacher charged with the kidnapping and rape of a 10-year-old student, also raped a teenager. The charge was added on Monday.
[CR Note: We get a lot of posts here from people who know those featured on this blog, the latest coming from a friend of Tacoma's boy lover, Jennifer Rice. This is a friendly request to those out there lurking on Crime Rant -- if you know a player in a case, chime in. We won't out you. Today's post comes from completelyshocked, a friend of Jennifer Leigh Rice.]
A little more has emerged about Jennifer Rice, the Tacoma teacher who took private lessons to the most disgusting extremes we’ve seen in years. Seems like the reverse Lolita had been trouble before.