Natasha Nicole Polk, the 34-year-old former Centralia Middle School teacher accused of sexually assaulting a then 13-year-old student in 2020, will not serve jail time — so long as she abides by her conditions of release.
Last week, Judge Paul Strophy sentenced Polk to 364 days in jail with 359 days suspended for five years and five days of credit for time served in Lewis County Superior Court.
The Oct. 27 judgement came after Polk pleaded guilty to one count each of second-degree sexual misconduct with a minor and fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation.
As part of her sentence, Polk was ordered to pay $100 in fees and fines. She must schedule a psycho-sexual evaluation with a state-certified provider and start treatment within 30 days of receiving that evaluation.
Additionally, Polk is prohibited from contact with minors with the exception of family members — though those family members must be “under direct supervision with an adult family member aware of the accusation,” according to court documents.
Polk is also prohibited from holding a position with "supervisory or advisory control over a minor,” and must not commit any new criminal law violations, according to court documents.
She must register as a sex offender.
Strophy entered a protection order on behalf of the victim.
Polk declined to provide an admission of guilt in her written statement as part of her Barr plea.
Instead, Polk stated in writing, “I am pleading guilty to an offense which I did not commit because there is substantial evidence that if proven at trial would support a conviction on a more serious offense and I wish to take advantage of the State's charging decision and recommendation.”
The former middle school teacher was originally charged with second-degree rape of a child on Aug. 20, 2024, and faced up to life in prison if convicted.
The Chronicle previously reported that the Centralia Police Department began investigating Polk in October 2023 after they received a sexual assault report from Child Protective Services.
According to the Centralia Police Department, Polk began sexually assaulting the victim while he was in the eighth grade. Polk also allegedly gave the victim food, marijuana, alcohol and vapes.
During this time period, according to police, Polk drove the victim from Centralia to her apartment in Lacey, gave him alcohol and sexually assaulted him.
At the time of her arrest, Polk was living in West Sacramento and was employed as a teacher with the Davis Joint Unified School District.
For past Chronicle coverage on the case, visit https://tinyurl.com/2tf53j9m.
