By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A Chehalis police officer resigned in the midst of investigations into possible misconduct during his assignment as a school resource officer involving a high school student.
Officer Jeff Elder quit the department last month, as his superiors were preparing to launch an internal investigation into whether he violated ethical standards and policies involving alleged sexual contact with a girl from W.F. West High School.
A criminal investigation was completed at the end of July and the prosecutor determined no crime occurred and no charge should be filed. If a crime did occur, the statute of limitations has passed, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes wrote in a memo to the investigating detective.
The allegations came at the end of June from a now-22-year-old woman who disclosed incidents that occurred when she was a freshman and a sophomore, according to law enforcement incident reports.
Chehalis Police Chief Glenn Schaffer said the planned internal investigation won’t be done now.
“Jeff’s resignation was completely voluntary,” Schaffer said. “The reason we did not get into an administrative review is he resigned before it began.”
Schaffer said this week he wouldn’t speculate as to whether any department rules had been broken, as those answers could only come from a review.
The allegations came to light when the young woman reported to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office in June she may have been drugged and raped, and then also mentioned an unrelated incident, that years earlier she had an intimate encounter with a law enforcement officer – she said she was certain she was 14 or 15 years old when it happened, according to documents from the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.
They contacted the Chehalis Police Department, which in turn asked the Washington State Patrol to investigate.
State patrol detectives concluded the encounter in question, sexual intercourse, at Elder’s home occurred days after the girl’s 16th birthday in 2005.
According to case documents, the girl – whose identity is blacked out – had left W.F. West midway through her sophomore year and moved to Thurston County, but sometimes babysat for the Elder’s children.
She said she met and came to to know Elder when she was a freshman and he was the school resource officer.
In a transcript of her interview with a Mason County sheriff’s detective she describes Elder as tapping or grabbing her buttocks “often” at school (and once at the police department), sneaking her through the back into school dances and and one time bringing animal crackers to her when she was at home and suspended from school.
She also told of a time when she was at the Elder’s home with his wife and children when he allegedly pushed her against a wall and started “making out” with her.
She described the same day, across the street at a baseball field, the two had “wrestled” for her purse and he kissed her “really quick.”
She told the detective Elder gave her his old handcuffs as a gift.
He would also say to her a lot “You make me hard” and also, “You know, 16’s the age of consent”, she told the detective.
Elder, now 41, declined to comment.
Elder was the school resource officer until the end of March 2004, according to Schaffer, while she was a freshman.
She graduated from high school in 2007.
Elder had asked to step down at the same time he was reprimanded for taking two female students off campus so one could pick up her homework and making a traffic stop with the girls in his car, according to documents from the Chehalis Police Department.
He was suspended for two days. At the time, the high school principal told Elder’s superior she hoped Elder would still continue with that assignment.
The school resource officer works primarily at the high school as a resource for the school district and a representative for the police department, interacting with the students, according to Schaffer. They’re there to teach and be a positive role model, he said.
Officer Troy Thornburg had been in the position the past several years, but last year because of budget issues, the program was put on hold.
Both Schaffer and Chehalis School District Superintendent Ed Rothlin this week gave both Thornburg and the program high praise and said if it weren’t for the finances, they would continue it and hope to in the future.
The young woman who made the allegations couldn’t be reached for an interview.
Also in the state patrol’s investigation is a letter from the young woman’s husband, that says he is deployed in Afghanistan, and asks them to write a letter to get him a compassionate reassignment to Joint Base Lewis McChord so he can be back by his wife’s side as quickly as possible during this time.
A sergeant of the investigating state patrol detective said yesterday he didn’t know if such a letter had been generated.
A sergeant at the Mason County Sheriff’s Office said the young woman’s other allegation – that she may have been drugged and raped in an unrelated case – was investigated and their prosecutor declined to file any charges.
Elder started with the police department in November 1994, was put on administrative leave July 7 and resigned Aug. 17.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I was in this class, I knew this girl and the other girl from the police car is still a close friend. All of this story is true. Anyone who went to WFW at that time would of suspected something. He always gave this girl special attention. She never said anything because she was scared. It is a little girl going against a cop for Christ’s sake! Give her some credit. I’m glad to see she has moved on with her life and is standing up for herself finally.
In response to JAY:
I did not know that he allegedly confessed. I never saw that in any public print that I read.
I concur with your analysis of the situation.
Great job formulating your response.
I actually learned something from you that is valuable.
Thanks for your insight.
Read the article. It states, “State patrol detectives concluded the encounter in question, sexual intercourse, at Elder’s home occurred days after the girl’s 16th birthday in 2005.” There seems to be no question about whether the sex occured, just whether her age and the statute of limitations makes the act illegal, not just misconduct. This pisses me off because his job was to mentor young girls and he took advantage of AT LEAST 1 of them. If there were any justice, you would run Officer Elder out of Lewis County on a rail. What’s really “fishy” is why anyone would want to exonerate a cop who allegedly admitted to having sex with a sixteen year old girl. So next time you look at your 16 year old daughter or neice, think, how would you like to know she was groomed for two years, before he had sex with her a few days after she was sixteen?
“State patrol detectives concluded the encounter in question, sexual intercourse, at Elder’s home occurred days after the girl’s 16th birthday in 2005.” Yeah, poor officer Elder.
Lynn, you are right. What kind of county has a police department where it’s not okay to have sex with young girls? I mean why would it be at all inappropriate for a cop to sleep with a sixteen year old? Yeah, a boo boo? Oops I accidentally had sex with a sixteen year old…my bad. So “Any other human being” can have sex with high school students? I don’t know about you, but that’s a “mistake” I never made. When cops have sex with kids, they should suffer greater consequences than “any other human being”.
This reminds me of a story some time back about the radio news guy whom left his job. The chronicle was all over his departure, which ensued in NO COMMENT. People leave jobs all the time without any news reporters asking questions. Big Brew HaHa looking for scandal and innuendo. The Chronicle is turning into a RAE-MAG. I hardly think this cop was thinking of a hand-on when he last last walked into a violent domestic situation. Just saying….
I vote for my MOM! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She doesn’t have a chance in hell. Go figure.
This story makes me wonder how any brave man or woman would ever sign on for a job in law enforcement. Just like any other human being, they make mistakes or do dumb stuff. Now a days, any boo boo, or foolish act turns into a sex scandal. Look at this county and the tiny fish pond cities it encumbers. The cronyism , nepotism, and the like. I just don’t trust the motivation behind this story. Why would anyone want to subject themselves to an inquiry in this politically fueled environment? And of course the Chronicle can’t just tell the story of a resignation. No, the tantalizing tidbits to make sure the story sells. Only in a stagnant pond!
The timing of the resignation seems suspicious to me.
If the officer had nothing to hide, it seems he could have let the review occur, clearing any doubt about his involvement.
Since he chose to resign before the review, he will have to accept the fact that people are going to wonder about the truth.
Sunshine, yes, I did read the 3rd paragraph, in that the statute of limitations had expired. However, you see it all the time that if it is someone else (not a cop, politician, etc…), they “suspend the statutes in the interest of justice”….
However, reading the article AGAIN (for about the 10th time), I’m beginning to start agreeing with some of the other folks in wondering just what is going on here…. and if there is any truth behind it….
A married woman with a husband stationed in Afghanistan, puts herself in an obviously dangerous situation, then goes to Mason County and says she “MAY” have been drugged and raped. No crime found. Then just “HAPPENS” to relate an UNRELATED issue that happened 6 or so years ago. Again, no crime found. The girl needs therapy. How nice a person can ALLEGE anything, and ruin a person’s reputation for life. And all the haters jumping on the band wagon. SMEAR JOB!
I agree someones daughter totally why 6 yrs almost 7 yrs later bring this up something don’t fit
There is something “fishy” about this whole story. Sounds like another smear campaign to me. The girl obviously has “issues.” Raped and drugged……………….Mason County? And 6 years later? City of Chehalis on another witch hunt?
This creeps me out I was in that same class this girl is my age and I think I may know her . I would have never thought would have ever happened in that school but I guess I was wrong. I personally think there is a lot more to this then we r getting .
I believe there is so much more of this that goes on then anyone ever realizes…. not just by cops, but by people in power… bosses… cops.. teachers..coaches.. ministers..parents… and all of these titles are titles of people children should be able to trust completely.. start sending a great example.. the statute of limitations… is never.. it takes a long time for a child who is told to keep quiet.. to finally see they have been duped.. and to run that on a time line is crazy! : ” OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!” Our children are OUR FUTURE! Stop messing with OUR FUTURE!
George — Did you read the 3rd paragraph?
I don’t get it…. if a cop resigns, then any investigations are immediately stopped, and no charges are filed… but if I did the same thing, you better believe they would be coming down on me like a ton of bricks, statute of limitations or not. Yet more proof that cops are not held to the same standard as the rest of us “civilians”…. And another case of justice not being served.
Hi Sharyn,
Thank you for providing more details into a situation that deserves the attention of concerned parents.
The previous comment seems to be critical of your coverage, but they should remember that happenings like these need to be brought into the open, and I feel this is a great example of responsible reporting.
Your story highlights a potentially dangerous threat to youth, and invites the contribution of further facts and analysis towards a more certain truth.
So basically you identify a rape victim – she had babysat for the family, her husband’s on deployment, etc. – and you thought she’d want to talk, after just recently telling her husband what happened?
Nice.