State v. Hirschfelder

170 Wash.2d 536, 242 P.3d 876 (2010)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was employed as a choir teacher at Hoquiam High School. He had sexual intercourse with a member of the high school choir several days prior to her graduation in 2006. At the time, D was 33 and A.N.T. was 18. D was charged with sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree under former RCW 9A.44.093(1)(b). It states: A person is guilty of sexual misconduct with a minor 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. Students aged out of the school at age 21. D moved to dismiss the charge. The statute criminalized sexual intercourse with “minors,” but D had sexual intercourse with an 18-year-old adult. The trial judge denied the motion but certified the case for immediate review by the Court of Appeals. The court of appeals granted D’s motion. P appealed.