Teacher's strip poker with students broke no Idaho law, but principal cited

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho – A Christian-school teacher who played a version of strip poker during a camping trip with students broke no law, but the principal who reported the incident to police has been cited.

Lake City Junior Academy Principal Twila Brown was given a misdemeanor citation Tuesday under a state law that requires school officials to report suspected child abuse or neglect within 24 hours.

A parent complained that Brown was told that teacher Andy Armstrong, 42, had played a game of "Dirty Hearts" with five fifth- and sixth-grade students during a school-sponsored camping trip in April, but didn't notify parents or police for nearly a week.

Armstrong, a physical-education and science teacher from Coeur d'Alene, was immediately suspended from the school and later fired.

Brown did not return a call seeking comment. Armstrong's telephone has been disconnected.

The Kootenai County prosecutor's office agreed with an investigating officer's conclusion that no law applied to Armstrong's participation in the card game, in which holders of losing hands remove articles of clothing.

"This conduct, although alarming, does not seem to fit an Idaho crime," Chief Deputy Prosecutor Lansing Haynes wrote.

Kootenai County sheriff's Deputy Christopher Kerzman investigated after Brown told him Armstrong taught the boys a variant of the game Hearts in which articles of clothing were removed for lost points.

None of those involved, including Armstrong, completely disrobed, nor did Armstrong ask anyone to perform sexual acts, the deputy wrote.

"They were to only remove as much clothing as it took to get to their 'boxers' or underwear,' " Kerzman said in his report. "Based upon what Brown told me, I could not locate a crime that described Armstrong's behavior."

Superintendent of Schools Keith Waters issued a written statement defending Brown.

"We deeply regret the circumstances leading up to the current situation," the statement said. "Principal Brown has always been a trusted and capable leader, and we have every confidence that any investigation will bear this out."