Idaho News

03/09/2006 07:02 PM MST

A Treasure Valley school teacher lands in hot water – charged with having a sexual relationship with a student

Canyon County Sheriff

Randy Eddy has been charged with sexual battery of a minor.

After a three month investigation, a Grand Jury indicted 36-year-old Randy Eddy of Sexual Battery with a Minor.  Eddy is a teacher and coach at Parma Middle School, a post he’s held for five years.  He spent two years at Meridian Middle School prior to that.

Police began building their case last year when police were tipped off to the alleged crime.

The middle school teacher is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old high school student.

“It’s a small district and this affects everyone,” Parma Superintendent Jim Norton said. “These are awfully difficult situations.”

Norton placed Eddy on administrative leave when police launched their probe last December.

“These are terrible. You always err on the side of protecting students at all times.  And we want to do that in this case as well,” Norton said. “It’s a very difficult situation because we want to respect the rights of everyone involved.”

Police say Eddy and the teen with whom he is accused of being intimate with met last summer.  While Eddy did not teach the student, she did assist him as a teacher’s aide.

Caldwell Police say this is the only criminal charge on his record.

“He does not have a criminal record, so it's up to a judge what happens,” Caldwell Police captain Chris Allgood said. “This is a serious charge, and he could do several years easily.”

Randy Eddy posted a $50,000 bond, and was released from the Canyon County jail shortly after his arrest this morning.

If he is convicted of the crime, he could face up to fifteen years in prison.

In addition to his teaching duties, he coaches tennis and wrestling for the school.  The Parma School District is also conducting a separate internal investigation.

Because the victim is over the age of 16, the crime is considered sexual battery.  If the student were under sixteen, the charge would have been lewd and lascivious conduct.