CENTRALIA, Wash. — A former Centralia Middle School substitute teacher was arrested for child sex abuse Wednesday.
Lewis County prosecutors charged her with second-degree rape of a child.
The alleged crimes occurred in 2020 when the teacher, Natasha Polk, was employed by the Centralia School District. According to probable cause documents, Polk is accused of raping a 13-year-old boy in addition to providing him with drugs and alcohol.
Court documents allege the sexual abuse happened on school grounds, at the teacher's residence, and at an Airbnb.
Polk then moved to Sacramento, California, in 2021 and was employed at a school there teaching middle and elementary school aged children. While living there, court documents allege Polk stayed in contact with the victim and traveled back to Washington to visit him, where another sexual encounter occurred.
Polk was arrested at her home in West Sacramento on Wednesday. The Davis Joint Unified School District in California, where she was most recently employed, confirmed Polk had been employed as a teacher since 2022. A spokesperson for the district said it was "shocked and disturbed to learn of the arrest and allegations."
The Centralia School District released a statement that read, in part:
"Since the safety and well-being of our students is one of our most sacred priorities, the district was both saddened and troubled to learn of these charges. Since the safety and well-being of our students is one of our most sacred priorities, the district was both saddened and troubled to learn of these charges."
Polk is currently in the Yolo County Jail and is awaiting extradition to Lewis County.