A contract employee with the Pe Ell School District was arrested Dec. 19 for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to a female student.
The employee, Evan Lynn Schimelpfenig, 34, of Doty, now faces one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes in Lewis County District Court.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge, a gross misdemeanor, during a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 20. The court commissioner ruled to allow Schimelpfenig to be released from jail on his own personal recognizance.
His conditions of release include provisions that he have no contact with the victim or any minors.
"It has come to the district’s attention that a contractor for the school district has recently been arrested by local law enforcement. The district is fully cooperating with local authorities as they investigate this matter,” the Pe Ell School District said in a written statement to The Chronicle on Dec. 20.
Court documents indicate Pe Ell School District Superintendent Kyle MacDonald reported the messages between Schimelpfenig and a student to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office at 12:20 p.m. on Dec. 18 after “staff were advised” of the messages.
A deputy with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reviewed the messages, which included five pages of correspondence via email and 12 pages of Snapchat messages. The messages reportedly include sexual comments, mentions of “a rumor going around school about the two having a relationship,” and three photos of the student’s cleavage, according to court documents. Nothing in the messages indicate the two had physical contact.
When questioned by a deputy, the student reportedly “confirmed the messages,” admitted to sending photographs to Schimelpfenig and “said there was no physical contact between them,” according to court documents.
Schimelpfenig allegedly “admitted to the relationship” when interviewed by a deputy at his residence, according to court documents, which indicate the deputy arrested Schimelpfenig at approximately 2 p.m. on Dec. 19.
Schimelpfenig’s next court date hadn’t been scheduled as of Friday.
Prior to his arrest, Schimelpfenig worked for the Pe Ell School District as an IT technician and was the adviser for the school’s esports team.
