Former KCHS Teacher Charged with Having Sex with Student
By: Joe Nicks 9/4/2009
The District Attorney's Office has filed criminal charges against former Kenai Central High School teacher Rosemary Owens, accusing Owens of having sex with one of her former students prior to his 18th birthday.
The charging document filed against the 34-year-old physical science teacher accuses her of having an ongoing relationship with one student, identified in the court papers as Student A. Student A claims this relationship included sex, smoking marijuana at her home in Kenai and drinking beer together.
The charging document, obtained from the Kenai District Attorney's Office, says the charges were based on an investigation by Kenai Police Investigator Jeff Whannell, beginning in the month of June. Whannell interviewed Student A as part of the investigation of Owens.
Kenai Police also obtained a search warrant of Owens' home in Kenai, where Owens' cell phone was taken as evidence.
The charging document claims an examination of Owens' cell phone showed numerous text messages between her, students and former students. Between the cell phone texts and police interviews with the identified students, the charging document places Owens at a party in Nikiski, where she is alleged to have drank alcohol and smoked marijuana along with numerous students.
The School District accepted Owens' resignation after the allegations against her surfaced in June. A warrant for Owens' arrest has been requested by the District Attorney's Office, who says she is currently in Idaho. She has been charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, one count of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree and one count of furnishing alcohol to a minor.
