JOSHUA WOLFSON Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:00 am
A man who worked as a Pinedale High School teacher faces charges in Natrona and Sublette counties that he had sexual relations with a student, court documents show.
Shawn Jeter, 34, is accused of having sex with a teenage girl who attended the high school, where he worked as a vocational agriculture teacher. The Star-Tribune does not identify the victims of alleged sex crimes.
Authorities learned of the alleged relations when another student at the school reported seeing Jeter and the girl kiss during school hours in a school facility, according to court documents.
Jeter, who is out of jail on bond, did not return messages left Tuesday at his home. His Miami-based attorney also did not respond to a message left with his secretary.
Jeter was initially suspended with pay pending the outcome of Sublette County School District 1's investigation into the incident, according to an affidavit from a Sublette County investigator. Information on Jeter's current status with the school district was not available Tuesday, and district Superintendent Doris Woodbury did not return a message left with her secretary Tuesday afternoon.
Jeter has a valid Wyoming teaching certificate that expires in 2011, according to the Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board.
In affidavits filed in Sublette and Natrona counties, authorities say Jeter initially denied the allegations, but in March, admitted to investigators that he had sex with the girl. He also acknowledged giving the girl a Valentine's Day card and money in January, court documents show.
In Sublette County, Jeter faces four counts of second-degree sexual assault and six counts of third-degree sexual assault, according to court records. Investigators allege that sexual contact between Jeter and the girl began in October 2004 and ended in February 2007.
Jeter is scheduled for trial in Sublette County in November, said Randy Hanson, an investigator with that county's prosecutor's office.
Jeter faces two charges in Natrona County District Court: third-degree sexual assault and indecent liberties with a child. Jeter's attorney, Ronald Guralnick, filed a written plea of not guilty in July, court records show.
The charges stem from two alleged incidents that took place while Jeter and the girl were in Casper for school-related functions, said Natrona County Assistant District Attorney Michael Schafer. The alleged incidents occurred in 2006 and 2007, according to court records.
A Natrona County judge dismissed two charges of second-degree sexual assault against Jeter during a hearing last month.
Reach Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@casperstartribune.net.