Washington teacher accused of sexual relationship with 14-year-old student 

A 62-year-old Washington teacher is being held on $750,000 bond after authorities charged him with having an affair with a 14-year-old student.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Daniel Bubar Wednesday with second- and third-degree rape and communication with a minor for immoral purposes, according to court documents.

The affair is alleged to have taken place between September 2024 and February 2026. Many of the assaults occurred at Skykomish K-12 School, a small town about 70 miles east of Seattle, where Bubar was the PE teacher and athletic director, according to media reports.

The school, which has about 50 students, will be closed until Monday, the same day Bubar is set to enter an initial plea to the charges.

The girl’s mother reportedly discovered the affair and withdrew the student from the school in February. Her family submitted evidence including screenshots of emails and surveillance video showing the pair having contact outside a church.

Bubar initially bonded with the student when she entered the school in seventh grade over her love for soccer and because she had experienced the loss of a friend at her previous school, Fox News reported.

The relationship reportedly turned sexual, and Bubar bought the girl alcohol and gifts, including lingerie.

Sex at school, during the school day 

Sexual encounters allegedly occurred at the school, including during the school day, and at a community center.

The pair exchanged hundreds of emails and had a code for sexual activity. They had arranged to meet at a swing set if they were forbidden to talk and had discussed going away for a few days, Living Snoqualmie reported.

Court records show multiple students and staff members expressed concern about the relationship, and the school’s principal told Bubar not to be alone with the student but reportedly did not assign another adult to supervise their interactions.

When interviewed by police, Bubar reportedly confessed to the relationship, admitted to taking nude photos of the girl on his phone and then deleting them, and said he was at fault. Records show he asked officers to tell his wife of his guilt and walked officials through the school to show them where the sexual acts had taken place.

The district’s response 

The Skykomish School District posted a letter dated Sunday that described how Bubar, who lives in Duvall, was arrested at the school Friday. “The district had no advance notice that the employee was under investigation until the day of his arrest,” Superintendent Destry Jones wrote.

The district said it would be “as transparent as possible” while also respecting the minor’s privacy and that it would make counseling available for students, staff and families. Its motto is “Everyone succeeds. No exceptions. No excuses.”

As shocking as the alleged abuse is, it is far from rare. One expert estimates 17% of K-12 schoolchildren will be sexually abused by a school employee.

And while many teachers are convicted for their crimes, Texas recently passed a law allowing victims to sue school districts for gross negligence if they were complicit or ignored warning signs. 

“Child sexual predators embed themselves in the institutions we trust most – churches, camps, and yes, our schools,” state Sen. Angela Paxton said of the bill. “What’s worse than the abuse itself is when school district personnel turn a blind eye or enable it.”

Advocates have called for the legislation to be modeled nationwide.

“This isn’t just about Texas,” said Christin Bentley, who chairs a Texas GOP initiative focused on protecting children in schools. “It’s about making sure every child in every state is safe – and that no school can hide behind the law when it fails to protect them.”