Apr 4, 2007 - Nathan E. Cox, 38, a teacher and coach in the Prairie Farm School District, waived his right to a preliminary and pleaded not guilty. Cox was charged with second-degree sexual assault of a child for sexual assault of a student who was 13-years-old at the time of the alleged offense.
Cox gave a brief statement and then handed in his letter of resignation at the school board meeting on Monday night.
News story Mar 29 - The student accused Cox of being intimate with her while they were in his vehicle near her home in the summer of 2006, according to the criminal complaint. She said the contact included kissing and touching but "not sex."
Update Apr 12 - Cox was arraigned and pleaded not guilty. A pretrial conference is set for May 23 with a jury trial set for June 28.
Update Apr 18 - Cox submitted his resignation to the school board on Monday, April 2.
Update May 31 - Cox pleaded guilty to felony child enticement-sexual contact. Sentencing is scheduled for July 14.
SENTENCED July 13 - Cox was sentenced to one year in prison. The judge said that Cox violated his position of trust and that’s why he needed to go to prison. WEAU: A presentence report suggested three years followed by up to ten years of extensive supervision. Cox apologized to family members, teachers, the community of Prairie Farm, the victim and her family at the sentencing, saying he was completely wrong and foolish for what he did.
TT -The Pierce County Herald headlined the sentencing story as, "Barron teacher sentenced for affair with student" A 38-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl was an "affair"? Who writes their headlines, Harlequin Romance or Pedophiles R Us?
July 18 - Article on the sentencing.
Cox’s father, Edwin Cox of Barron, also a schoolteacher, and Nathan’s wife, Jennifer, asked [Judge Edward] Brunner not to send Nathan to prison. The couple have a 7-year old son and two younger daughters.The judge had some words on why Nathan should be jailed.
[Judge[ Brunner told Cox that he was lucky to have the support of his family who were asking him to be lenient with Cox.
“But you have to keep in mind that you got yourself here,” Brunner said. Although people make mistakes, Brunner said his definition of a good father and a good husband was not somebody who was soliciting sex from 13-14 year old girls.
Brunner said [Defense Attorney Carol] Conklin had asked him not to call into play that Cox was a teacher. But, he said, if anyone in Cox’s family had been molested by a teacher, they would feel violated because they had trusted that child to a teacher. “It is a fact that this young lady will live with this scar for the rest of her life,” Brunner said. “So I can’t ignore the position that you had. It’s part of the offense. It’s part of who you are.”
