(RepublicanPress.org) – On June 13, the Bellevue Police Department (BPD) in Washington released a statement regarding the arrest of a teacher. The instructor was accused of molesting an 8-year-old child inside Newport Heights Elementary School. One month later, he was arrested again for the same charge involving a 9-year-old at the same school.
On July 9, the BPD updated the public regarding the child sex crime case involving 73-year-old teacher Robert Scroggs. Police said the suspect was filling in as a substitute teacher at the elementary school when he allegedly touched a 9-year-old inappropriately during class. The department notice said the public contributed to the investigation, which led officers to arrest Scroggs for a second time.
BPD Chief Wendell Shirley thanked the residents and officers for their hard work in gathering enough evidence to arrest the suspect and hold him accountable for allegedly “committing heinous crimes on some of [the] most vulnerable” in society.
The first incident began on June 6, when school officials contacted the police department to report a parental complaint that Scroggs had sexually assaulted their 8-year-old child. The teacher would apparently take students out of the classroom regularly to address various issues with students. According to the parent, that’s when the molestation occurred. Police provided less detail about the second instance. Both events reportedly happened between January and April.
Scroggs has been charged twice with child molestation of the 1st degree. Police did not make it clear if the suspect is still in custody or out on bail. They also didn’t say why or how the substitute teacher was out of jail following his first arrest in June.
According to Psychology Today, about 10% of students will be victims of sexual misconduct at the hands of educators before graduation. A 2022 study showed that 11.7% of the 6,632 student participants reported at least one sexual misconduct experience involving a teacher.
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