Former Wahluke school employee accused of sexual misconduct

Man accused of affair with 15-year-old student

A former Wahluke School District assistant softball coach and maintenance worker is facing charges for improper relations with two different teen-aged girls.

Doron Richard Thomas, 39, pleaded not guilty before Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline last week to charges of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor and attempted sexual misconduct with a minor.

He will stand trial on June 19 and is out on $5,000 bail, Grant County Prosecutor John Knodell said.

Thomas is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old female Wahluke High School student whom he met while she was working for him on a summer maintenance crew.

Thomas resigned from the school district after he was contacted by Grant County Detective Kim W. Cook, who was investigating the matter. He then refused to speak with Cook, according to a report from the detective, on the advice of his attorney, Julie Twyford.

Twyford could not be reached for comment before deadline.

According to a report from Cook submitted this February, the then-15-year-old girl stated she and Thomas, who is married, met at the satellite towers on Saddle Mountain first to talk, then to engage in sexual acts.

During the summer of 2003, according to the girl's statement, she contacted Thomas while she was painting and he was working at the middle school gym. They started talking, then kissing and eventually had sexual intercourse, according to the statement.

The girl also stated she had made a bet with another student that she would be able to kiss a teacher before the end of the school year, but she also said it was meant as a joke and she didn't plan to follow through with it, according to the statement.

The girl later had another girl take nude photos of her at the Columbia River outside of Mattawa at the request of Thomas, according to the statement. She told Cook she didn't intend to give them to him, but he took them out of her car and later gave some back.

According to Cook's report, the Wahluke School District had conducted an internal investigation on allegations of an affair between Thomas and a different female student.

A message left with William Miller, Wahluke School District superintendent, was not returned before deadline this morning.

The case came before law enforcement after a 19-year-old woman, who is also listed as a victim, made allegations to authorities, according to Cook's report.

The first girl, who is now 17, told Cook she didn't want to report the case to authorities.

"The reason I didn't disclose all this information in the first statement was because I was scared, embarrassed and shocked that this information was now public," she said in the statement.