Friday Former Lincoln High School teacher, Meredith Powell, was sentenced on two counts of Rape of a Child in the Third Degree and one count of Communicating with a Minor for Immoral Purposes.  The court imposed 60 months, the high-end of the standard sentencing range, and granted a Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA).

Under the SSOSA imposed by the court, Powell will serve 6 months in the Pierce County Jail with 54 months suspended on the condition that she comply with court ordered sex offender treatment, register as a sex offender, have law abiding behavior and have no contact with the minor victims. Failure to comply with any of the court ordered conditions can result in revocation of the SSOSA and Powell could serve the full 60 months.

Powell pled guilty to the charges on July 23, 2014. The defendant had been a math teacher at Lincoln High School in Tacoma. On Jan. 17, 2014, one of the victims went to the defendant’s classroom instead of attending the school’s Martin Luther King Day assembly. The two kissed and engaged in sexual activity.

A few days after the assembly, the defendant engaged in sexual activity in her classroom with a second victim. They kissed and the defendant performed oral sex on this victim.

Between the period of Jan. 17, 2014 and Jan. 28, 2014, the defendant exchanged explicit text messages with a third victim.

On Feb. 3, 2014, the defendant wrote a letter to the girlfriend of one of the victims. She apologized for the “promiscuous” and “unprofessional” comments and texts. The girlfriend showed the letter to school administrators and the defendant was placed on administrative leave. Detectives arrested the defendant on Feb. 6, 2014.