Accused Richland music teacher agrees to trial delay

A former Richland music teacher arrested and accused of having inappropriate contact with his female students nearly a year ago still is waiting for his case to go to trial.

Allan Eve, 59, appeared briefly Monday in Benton County Superior Court, where he agreed to postpone his trial until just before Christmas.

Eve's new trial date is Dec. 22. It had been scheduled to start Nov. 24.

"If this matter goes to trial, I imagine it would only be a three-day trial," defense attorney Jim Egan told Judge Dennis Yule.

Eve has been out of jail since posting bail.

He is charged with communication with a minor for immoral purposes and fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation for incidents involving two students, who were younger than 18 at the time.

The longtime Richland School District teacher — he worked in the district for nearly 36 years — is accused of leaving several anonymous typed notes in a girl's locker.

Court documents claim at least one of the notes had sexual overtones, with Eve saying he wanted to "be intimate" with the student.

He's also accused of making another girl feel uncomfortable by getting too close to her during a meeting, telling her she was pretty and massaging her hand, documents said.

A third student said Eve first left notes in her locker in February 2006 suggesting that he wanted to have an intimate relationship with her, prosecutors said. They reportedly had sex multiple times throughout the rest of the school year, prosecutors said.

Eve had been charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, but in August Judge Yule ruled it was not a crime for a teacher to have sex with an 18-year-old student.

Yule had said the law was too vague because it did not clearly define "minor," and the charge was ordered dismissed.

Since then, a similar case from Grays Harbor County involving a choir teacher and an 18-year-old student was argued in the Division 2 Court of Appeals.

In that case, Matthew Hirschfelder asked the appeals court to dismiss his case by arguing that because the student was 18 at the time — therefore not a minor — he can't be charged with sexual misconduct with a minor.

A Grays Harbor Superior Court judge previously ruled the law was clear and a student can be a victim of the crime even if the student is 18.

The Washington Education Association sided with the defense and said the law making it a crime for teachers to have sex with students doesn't apply to 18-year-olds.

No decision has been made by the appeals court.