Teacher’s Sex With Student, 18, Wasn’t a Crime, Says Wash. Appeals Court

Stopping short of finding that it would be unconstitutional to criminalize a sexual relationship between a high school teacher and his adult student, a Washington state appellate court says the legislature never intended to criminalize such conduct.

Although the applicable statute is vague, legislative history shows that it was intended only to make it a crime for a teacher to have a sexual relationship with a minor student, the Washington Court of Appeal explains in a written opinion (PDF) today.

Hence, a three-judge panel found, a trial court erred by not granting a motion to dismiss a criminal case against Matthew Hirschfelder. The former Hoquiam High School choir teacher allegedly had intercourse with an unnamed 18-year-old choir student one night after a school function. He was 33 at the time.

Prosecutors may now appeal the decision to the Washington Supreme Court, predicts a Tri-City Herald article about the appellate ruling.

Additional details about the criminal case against Hirschfelder are provided in a King 5 News article published in 2007.