Seattle Public Schools to review all education contractors after tutor charged with the rape of a child

In December, Gregory Emmanuel Ward was arrested and charged with the rape of a child in the second degree and communication with a minor for immoral purposes. He was working for City Year, a nonprofit that provides extra staff such as tutors to help teachers, and was assigned to South Shore PK-8 and Aki Kurose Middle School. According to court documents, the alleged victim was a student at one of the schools.

After his arrest, the district suspended services from City Year at the two schools and, according to the Seattle Times, terminated the contracts earlier this month. However, the nonprofit’s employees are continuing to work at three of the district schools, Concord International Elementary School, Denny International Middle School, and Rising Star Elementary School.

The district has reportedly asked City Year to review its background check protocols and retrain staff. Additionally, the organization’s staff was forbidden from texting students, a policy already in place at SPS but not at City Year. Texting reportedly played a role in the December incident.

According to charging documents obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Ward fostered a relationship with his 13-year-old student, who is identified as “LD,” that led to her sexual assault on December 30, 2024. The day of the alleged assault, LD told her family she was going to meet friends but later that day, her sister noticed she wasn’t answering her phone. The sister and her mother tracked LD’s phone to an alley and found Ward kissing and touching her.

Ward ran when he saw LD’s mother and though LD initially stated nothing happened, she later told her family that she and Ward had sex in a nearby restaurant bathroom. Ward has been her math tutor and texting LD for several months. Ward took pictures of her and told her to keep everything a secret. He denied assaulting the child and claimed what happened that day was “wrong and inappropriate,” according to court documents.

City Year fired Ward after learning of his arrest. According to The Seattle Times, the organization has retrained its staff on social-emotional health, trauma awareness, classroom management, workplace harassment, student data security, whistleblowing, and cyber security. Additionally, staff completed the district’s training on boundaries.