An elementary school special education teacher is accused of raping and molesting a 10-year-old student up to “five times per day” — and even recording the sick crimes on her phone.
Mahayla Benavides, 32, abused the boy for months at Stevens Elementary School in Spokane, Washington — usually in a “time-out room” in the classroom and even while other students were present, the boy told investigators, according to an affidavit obtained by KXLY.
The perverted teacher also allegedly showed the boy sexual videos she took of herself while saying his name — and she even filmed herself performing sex acts on him in the classroom, according to the disturbing affidavit.
The “highly predatory” teacher used her position of power to sexually assault the boy, Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Amanda Fry said at Benavides’ court appearance Friday, according to the Spokesman-Review.
The unidentified child told investigators he was abused almost every day, beginning around winter break — and “sometimes as much as five times per day.”
The boy said the encounters, which mainly took place in a smaller room adjacent to the main classroom, lasted about five minutes because that was how long their “breaks” lasted.
Benavides told the child not to tell anyone or she would get fired, according to the affidavit.
She also allegedly took sexual videos of herself and showed them to the boy at the school. In one of the videos, she uses the child’s name while talking to the camera and pleasuring herself, according to the affidavit.
Police wrote in the affidavit that they also found videos of Benavides appearing to perform a sexual act with the child in the classroom.
The principal of the school contacted police last month after one of the student’s family members reported the alleged abuse, according to the Spokane Police Department.
Benavides was removed from teaching once the district learned of the allegations, school district officials said.
She was arrested on Thursday, March 12, and charged with first-degree child rape and first-degree molestation.
Prosecutors have said they are additionally concerned about witness tampering because Benavides tried to contact the victim while she knew she was under investigation.
A judge set her bond at $750,000 on Friday.
“Parents entrust schools with their children every day. That trust exists because families believe their children will be safe in the care of the adults responsible for them. Every child deserves that safety,” Sweetser Law Office, which is representing the child’s family, said in a statement.
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