Tenino teacher held in sexual misconduct case

By Rolf Boone | The Olympian • Published September 21, 2008

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TENINO – A Tenino High School teacher and coach is being held without bail after he was arrested Friday night on suspicion of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, a Tenino police official said.

Sean C. Dillon, 35, of Tumwater, was booked into Thurston County Jail about 9 p.m. Friday and is expected to be arraigned Monday in Thurston County Superior Court, Tenino Police Chief Joe Vukich said.

Vukich said Dillon was arrested at the Tenino School District's superintendent's office, near Tenino Elementary School in the 300 block of Old Highway 99.

Tenino School District Superintendent Russ Pickett and Tenino High School Principal Jeff Johnson could not immediately be reached. Tenino High School athletic director Randy Kramer said he didn't know any details about the case.

Dillon taught high school history and coached boys basketball and girls tennis, Kramer and Vukich said. Kramer said Dillon had been at the school for at least three years. He described him as a "great coach" who seemed to be well-liked by students.

An investigation is pending, with more details to be released Monday, Vukich added. He said Saturday that school district officials called police Friday after a psychologist contacted the district about Dillon. After police arrived at the superintendent's office, Dillon "provided a statement" and was arrested, Vukich said.

First-degree sexual misconduct is a class C felony. A person is guilty of the crime in the first degree "when the person is a school employee who has, or knowingly causes another person under the age of eighteen to have, sexual intercourse with a registered student of the school who is at least sixteen years old and not married to the employee, if the employee is at least sixty months older than the student," according to the revised code of Washington.

In August 2007, former Tenino High School teacher Dawn Marie Welter, then 38, was sentenced in Lewis County Superior Court to 60 days in jail for having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student.

Welter gave up her teaching license as part of the sentence. The Tenino district placed her on paid leave March 1, 2007.

Rolf Boone is a reporter for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5403 or rboone@theolympian.com.