Stacey Dean Rambold, 49, has been charged in District Court with three counts of felony sexual intercourse without consent. Prosecutors allege in charging documents filed Friday that Rambold performed oral and digital sex acts on a ninth-grade female student over the course of several months, including one instance in his school office.
Rambold was arrested on a warrant Friday, booked in the Yellowstone County jail and then released after posting a $25,000 bond, said Deputy County Attorney Rod Souza. The prosecutor said Rambold will likely appear for arraignment in District Court on Nov. 10.
Sexual intercourse without consent carries a maximum prison sentence of 100 years. The charges allege the sexual contact occurred when the girl was less than 16 n the age of consent in Montana n and when Rambold was at least three years older than the girl.
The eight-page affidavit describes a police investigation that included numerous interviews with teachers and students at Senior High.
One of the teachers told police that several of her students told her in mid-April they suspected Rambold of having an inappropriate relationship with the girl. The teacher said the students reported that Rambold was “never in the classroom during class,” and Rambold and the girl were often alone together in his office during class.
Another teacher said that Rambold came to his class twice in October 2007 and asked to have the same girl come with him because “she was behind in some work.” A teacher who supervised students on detention said Rambold asked her to let the alleged victim out of detention so she could work with him. The girl told the same teacher that Rambold often removed her from detention, court records state.
The alleged victim, who is identified in court records by a single initial, gave two statements to police about the allegations, on April 29 and again on May 16.
In her statements, the girl said Rambold was one of her teachers and he began giving her rides home from school. The relationship became more intimate with hugging and kissing, the girl said, and the two spent time together away from school and talking on the phone and by computer. Some of their text messages were recovered by police and are included in the court records.
The girl said the first sexual contact happened in the back seat of Rambold’s vehicle after they discussed getting a motel room. On another occasion, Rambold took her out of a class and drove her to his house, where they allegedly had sexual contact. Rambold then drove her back to school for her last class of the day, the girl said.
On a third alleged incident, the girl said she had sexual contact with Rambold in his office.
The girl said she received an A in Rambold’s class, although she didn’t believe her work supported that grade. Another student told police Rambold favored the girl, who she estimated deserved a C or D in his class based on her work.
The allegations against Rambold surfaced April 24, when the girl told a church group leader that she had been sexually assaulted by a teacher, according to court records. The church member told the girl’s mother, who then called police.
The Police Department launched an investigation, and on April 29 Superintendent Jack Copps announced that Rambold had been placed on paid leave pending an investigation by the school district.
A business and technology teacher and adviser to the Business Professionals of America Club at Senior High, Rambold resigned from the school district in July after the district found evidence to support the allegations. Rambold also agreed to surrender his Montana teaching certificate, which as of Sept. 12 is no longer active.
According to court records, Rambold was warned in 2004 by the Senior High principal about allegations of inappropriate contact with students. Rambold was warned: “Hands off all students, watch your proximity to students, treat all students the same, take off instant messaging,” court records state.
The principal said Rambold had been accused of touching female students and of entering the girls’ locker room unannounced.
A former Senior High student who graduated in 2005 told a police detective that during a trip to California for the school business club, Rambold was caught looking into the hotel room of female students as they were changing clothes.
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