Former PRLHS teacher faces lewd conduct charge

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SANDPOINT — A former Priest River Lamanna High School teacher was bound over to First District Court to face a lewd conduct charge.

On Wednesday, Judge Patrick McFadden found probable cause in First District Magistrate Court to bind over Sarai Lynn McCormick, 37, for events that allegedly took place on Oct. 30 at a Halloween party.

Deputy Prosecutor Nicholas Lepire called four witnesses at Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, including the victim.

“I didn’t think she was actually coming,” the victim said while on the stand. “I thought it was just a joke.”

McCormick drove herself to the private residence in Priest River. All four of those who were called to testify either attend or graduated from the high school. They testified that McCormick brought alcohol to the party and was visibly intoxicated when she arrived.

“She told us to call her ‘Sarai’ and our ‘friend’ and not ‘Mrs. McCormick’ or our ‘teacher,’” a witness said.

Although the court proceedings are public record, witnesses and the victim will not be named in the interest of their privacy.

“We all thought that it was just cool that our teacher was there, we thought it was like some high school movie,” said another witness.

A third witness testified to helping McCormick out to her vehicle, physically propping her up as they were walking before the victim took over helping McCormick.

A small group of people left the party to search for McCormick and the victim. A witness testified that the two were found in the back seat of McCormick’s vehicle after one attendee opened the back door of the SUV.

“I guess when you have a bunch of teenagers that have their teacher at a party, and then you see them in the back of a car on top of each other, it really wasn’t a question what was going on. I mean, it was pretty obvious,” the witness said.

Shortly after the interruption, McCormick drove away from the location. The victim testified that was when the assault took place.

McCormick dropped the victim off a short distance away from the residence some time later, but did not rejoin the party.

Many of the party’s attendees spent the night at the residence. Upon waking up the following morning the victim appeared to be distressed, according to testimonies.

“He seemed either upset or regretful and asked us to delete pictures or anything from the party,” one of the witnesses testified.

The others agreed that everyone involved would delete anything created the previous evening, even going so far as to say that the gathering was not a party.

“She told me that we could really screw her over or throw her under the bus,” said a witness about a one-on-one exchange with McCormick at the school the following week. “She was very relieved that we were taking her side on the situation.”

Although McCormick is 37, and the victim is too young to consent, the victim appeared to take responsibility for the alleged assault.

“If anyone was going to get in trouble, I wanted it to be me,” the victim said.

McCormick is currently detained at the Bonner County Jail. She is scheduled to appear for arraignment in front of First District Judge Lamont Berecz on April 28. The maximum sentence for lewd conduct is life in prison and a $50,000 fine.

It is not uncommon for victims of sexual assualt to feel guilt for the crimes committed against them, according to a scholarly article published by the National Criminal Justice Refrence Service. In Idaho, anyone under the age of 16 is not able to consent, regardless of their involvement in the assault. Sexual acts involving minors is illegal, and there is no statute of limitations to report crimes of this nature.

LillyBrooke Family Justice Center is a local agency that advocates for victims on their behalf. Victims are also helped in the recovery process by being connected with qualified professionals. LillyBrooke can be contacted 24/7 by calling 208-265-3586.