Washington lawmaker accused of underage relationship with ex-student in Idaho

A former high school student of embattled Washington lawmaker Rep. Matt Manweller says she had a sexual relationship with him in the 1990s, when she was 17, he was 27 and both were in Hailey, Idaho.

Under Idaho state law at the time, sex between an adult male and a female younger than 18 constituted statutory rape.

The Northwest News Network reported Friday that the unnamed woman came forward in part because of the Republican’s response to an investigation finding he engaged in a pattern of unprofessional and inappropriate behavior at Central Washington University.

The university fired the political-science professor last month. Manweller has vehemently denied the allegations and is suing for wrongful termination.

He is running for re-election this fall.

Manweller acknowledged that he taught the woman at Wood River High School in Hailey but denies that he had a sexual relationship with her when she was 17.

She told the Northwest News Network they would go on dates to Twin Falls so they would be less likely to be seen by people from Hailey.

Manweller received a standard Idaho teaching contract for three consecutive school years — the most recent from 1996-97, according to the Idaho State Department of Education’s online certification database. He spent that entire time in the Blaine County School District.

The status of his Idaho teaching credential is “expired,” according to the ISDE database.

The Blaine County School District released a statement Friday in response to a Times-News inquiry:

“We are shocked and saddened to learn about this and we are always on guard to prevent this type of situation from happening. The safety and well-being of our students is our priority. We have several measures in place to prevent sexual misconduct or abuse from occurring in our schools.

• We screen all candidates with fingerprinting and background checks.

• We have very clear policies on harassment, sexual misconduct and appropriate behavior between students and staff.

• Staff are required to immediately report any suspicion or knowledge of inappropriate behavior between students and adults.

• Staff receive training every year regarding our policies.

• We are equipped to initiate our crisis response team, investigate reports, support the well-being of our students and be proactive so that these types of incidents are prevented and our children are protected.

“We take the safety and well-being of our students very seriously. We want to maintain the safest school environment possible and we will continue to do so.”