Crime & Safety

Former Bellevue Middle School Teacher Loses License for Sex Crimes

An update on the case of Matthew James Jones, the Tillicum Middle School science teacher accused last year of having sex with a former student when she was 16. Public Data Ferret and OSPI have updates.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction has permanently revoked the license of a former  teacher who pleaded guilty to third-degree rape of a child after prosecutors say that he had sex with a former student, according to state discipline records.

was accused last April of third degree rape of a child and third degree child molestation, both felonies, after  officers say that he and his former student were found completely naked in the back seat of a 2009 Honda Civic in the parking lot of Lattawood Park March 20, 2011, just before 1:45 a.m.

Jones, whose charges were later changed to two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree, and the student started having sexual contact when she was 15, according to OSPI.

Find out what's happening in Bellevuewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jones, who is now 32, plead guilty to the charges in King County Superior Court in September, according to OSPI's Office of Professional Practices.

The Social Capital Review's Public Data Ferret, which first reported on the state's disciplinary action, also reported on Jones' ties to an innovative Bellevue School District and Seattle Pacific University science education pilot project and his extensive social media habits.

Find out what's happening in Bellevuewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Bellevue School District spokeswoman Jacqueline Coe said last April that Jones resigned from his job on March 21, 2011, which was the day after the arrest by the Bellevue Police Department, and parents at Tillicum Middle School were advised that an investigation was under way. 

According to charging papers, the teenage girl, now a high school student, and Jones told police that Jones was her science teacher in seventh and eighth grades and that she and Jones began kissing and fondling in July 2010, a few months before she turned 16. After she turned 16, they starting having sex, the girl told investigators.

The girl told police that all their contact was consensual.

According to charging papers, Jones told police that he started meeting her on weekends and at night in Lattawood Park in the summer months of 2010. He told investigators that they would meet in the park or he would pick her up at her home.

According to state law, adults can face felony charges from having sexual contact with teenagers who are 16 or younger and four years younger than the adult, if the two people involved are not married to each other.

Tillicum Middle School sent two letters home to parents after Jones' resignation.

"Allegations of inappropriate conduct by any adult are taken very seriously. Parents may understandably be concerned that a teacher, a trusted adult who had regular contact with their child, is being investigated for inappropriate contact with a student," principal Dion Yahoudy said in a letter sent home after the incident.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Bellevue