Court rules girl not responsible for sex with teacher

OLYMPIA — A 13-year-old girl cannot be held at fault for having sex with her teacher, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday, rejecting a school district's argument that it shouldn't have been sued because the girl was partially responsible.

The girl was an eighth-grade student at Royal Middle School in the Royal City, Grant County, in 2001 when the sexual relations occurred with a 26-year-old teacher, Steven Diaz.

Diaz was arrested and entered a modified guilty plea.

The girl and her family sued in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, accusing the Royal School District and Principal Preston Andersen of negligence for failure to supervise and for negligent hiring of the teacher. Under state law, it is criminal for a teacher or anyone else in a position of power to have sexual relations with anyone under the age of 18.

The court wrote that in the particular civil case before it, "a child under the age of 16 may not have contributory fault assessed against her for her participation in a relationship."

The district and Andersen argued that contributory fault applied because the girl "had a duty to protect herself against sexual abuse but failed to do so." The trial court deferred ruling pending an answer from the state high court on a question of state law.

In its 7-2 ruling, the court said that criminal laws protecting children from sexual abuse apply equally in civil cases concerning sexual abuse.

The court also dismissed the defendant's assertion that the girl consented to the relationship.

Attorney Robert Crotty, who represented the family, said the case now goes back to federal court, and the school district's attorneys will not be able to bring up any claim that she has any contributory fault. Crotty said the girl, now 18, is in college out of state.

Diaz's story was described in the 2003 Seattle Times series, "Coaches who prey."

Records obtained for The Times' investigation show that Royal school officials knew about Diaz's history — he lost his job as Highland High School boys basketball coach after complaints that he and other coaches went hot-tubbing with cheerleaders who had just graduated — but hired him anyway, in part because of his coaching skills.

When several students told school officials they were worried about the girl's relationship with Diaz, the principal conducted an investigation that lasted less than 20 minutes.

Later, more allegations surfaced about the girl's relationship with Diaz, but records show school officials didn't immediately call Child Protective Services or the girl's parents or file a police report, according to documents in the lawsuit.

Instead, they called the school district's risk-management company, whose investigator questioned the girl over two days. Diaz was charged with eight sex crimes and pleaded guilty to one count of assault with sexual motivation.

Information from Seattle Times staff reporter Maureen O'Hagan is included in this report.