A Tacoma teacher was confronted with the grave allegations of nine charges of child molestation, as he faced the families of his purported victims in court this past Friday. Jordan Henderson, a 34-year-old associated with Evergreen Elementary School in the Peninsula School District and a pastor at Wellspring Fellowship, stands accused of molesting children, including three who were his students, as reported by FOX13 Seattle. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department (PCSD) began its investigation following a February 26 report of misconduct prompting immediate action from school officials who removed Henderson from Longbranch Elementary School.
Notwithstanding the severity of the charges, Henderson entered a plea of not guilty on Friday and was granted release on a $100,000 bond, the developments were confirmed by KIRO 7. In an email dispatched by the school district to families last week, the nature of the allegations involving 'boundary invasions, verbal statements and potentially touching' was detailed, an alarming declaration that struck concern across the community about the safety of their children within the educational system.
Henderson's legal quandary has encapsulated the town in distress, where even his own parents, Chris and Susan, the latter being a teacher at the same school, are enveloped in the unfolding scandal. After the damning report was filed with the PCSD, Henderson's home in Gig Harbor searched, and he was subsequently arrested on April 18, with first-degree charges steering him into Pierces County Jail, as KOMO News elucidated.
Adding to this, attorney Kevin Hastings representing one of the victim's families, conjectured, “Based on our initial investigations, we believe that the teacher likely abused many other young women over the years,” this concerning statement was obtained by KOMO News, the lawyer cautioned about the probable extensive nature of the abuse that might stretch back years into Henderson's teaching career. The Peninsula School District's superintendent Krestin Bahr stressed, “As the Superintendent of the Peninsula School District, I take the safety and well-being of our students very seriously and want to assure our community that these allegations are in stark opposition to everything we stand for," a reassurance highlighted in response to the growing unease among parents and residents.
