A married former high school teacher was convicted of having sex with an underage student, even though the victim’s mother claims the educator’s “predatory behavior” stole the students’ dreams. No prison sentence will be imposed.
McKenna Kindred, 25, who taught at Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley, Wash., was charged Thursday with second-degree sexual misconduct with a minor and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. Pleaded guilty with amendment.
The inappropriate relationship between the teacher and the 17-year-old student began in June 2022, when the minor discovered Kindred’s Instagram account and the two began messaging each other, according to the complaint. Spokesman Review.
One day in November of that year, while Kindred’s husband was away on a hunting trip, Kindred and the student had sex inside the student’s home.
A friend of the teen shared a screenshot of the message with school officials in December 2022.
Kindred and the boy at the time denied having a sexual relationship after rumors began to spread around the school that the teacher was being harassed on social media, the newspaper said.
An investigation was launched into Kindred’s actions and detectives spoke to the boy, who admitted to sending messages to his teacher and even exchanging inappropriate videos with each other.
The girl contacted Kindred through Instagram and admitted to having sex with the teacher at his home.
An investigation revealed that Kindred had sent several sexually suggestive messages to the boy. KHQ previously reported.
“I wanted you to stay in my room.”
“I felt myself getting angry when other girls talked about you in class.”
“I really like being touched by you.”
According to the report, detectives seized the boy’s cell phone and found selfies of him and the student, but no “photos that seemed overtly sexual” were found.
The district placed Mr. Kindred on administrative leave in December 2022, followed by his resignation in 2023.
The victim’s mother claimed Kindred had started grooming her son since he was 16 and that the behavior was an “abuse of power”.
“I could barely sleep for weeks because I was afraid of physical retaliation.” [my son] McKenna may become a victim because she involved him in an adult marital relationship,” Ashley Beckley said in a shock statement in court. According to KHQ.
Ms. Beckley also claimed that Ms. Kindred’s actions prevented her son from completing school on campus and affected his social, emotional and academic well-being.
“The light he had went dark,” she said.
Kindred acknowledged the pain she had caused and apologized to the girl and her family.
“I know this past year has been extremely difficult for everyone involved. As a result of my actions, I have lost my career, valuable friendships, freedom, and countless others who have placed their trust in me. I have let down so many people,” she said in a prepared statement in court.
“My mental health has also been greatly affected by this event. I am deeply ashamed of the pain I have caused.”
Kindred, who has been held without bail since his arrest in 2022, was sentenced to two years’ probation, $700 in fines and fees, and ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.
Since his arrest, Kindred has voluntarily begun seeing a counselor for his mental health, according to the Spokesman-Review.
Kindred’s counselor said the teacher’s mental health, depression, anxiety and marital problems did not excuse her crimes, but they contributed to them.
“She has suffered severe collateral effects,” he added.
