Felony charges against paraeducator dismissed
June 11, 2009 · Updated 7:23 AM
The Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office dropped the felony sexual misconduct charge against a former South Kitsap High School paraeducator accused of having sex with a teenage girl, according to Kitsap County Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Hull.
“As the case evolved, there were some inconsistencies in the evidence, and we realized we would have a hard time proving the felony,” Hull said.
After his alleged affair with a 17-year-old girl emerged in February, Thomas Henry, 24, a former paraeducator with SKHS’s Career and Technical Education Department, was charged Feb. 20 with sexual misconduct with a minor in the first-degree. If convicted, he would have been required to register as a sex offender.
Hull said the felony charge was dropped May 15, then on the same day a lesser charge of sexual exploitation of a minor in the second-degree, a gross misdemeanor, was filed against Henry.
Hull said Henry entered into a “pre-trial deferment” contract that means if he abides by the code of conduct stipulated in the contract for two years, the case will be dismissed.
If the case is dismissed at that time, Hull said Henry will not be required to register as a sex offender because “he did not plead guilty to the offense.”
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