DRIGGS — Jeffery Wilkes, a former Teton High School wrestling and football coach, has been indicted by a Teton County grand jury on two felony charges of sexual battery of a minor.
According to a press release from the Teton County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Wilkes is facing a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison and a $100,000 fine if convicted of the charges.
Wilkes was taken into custody without incident early Friday morning by Bingham County sheriff’s deputies in Blackfoot on a Teton County warrant.
Wilkes’ next court appearance will be Dec. 6. Wilkes’ bond was set at $50,000 and he bonded out of the Bingham County Jail early Friday evening.
Teton County Prosecuting Attorney Bailey Smith will be leading the prosecution. The case will be presided over by District Judge Steven Boyce.
Though Wilkes was arrested and arraigned in Bingham County, further court proceedings will occur in Teton County as it is where the crimes were allegedly committed.
The prosecutor’s press release alleges that in two 2017 incidents Wilkes attempted to either perform or solicit acts sexual in nature on a female individual, age 17 or under.
One incident was allegedly physical in nature and occurred on Teton High School premises in Driggs. The other purportedly was committed via text messaging.
Teton School District 401 Superintendent Monte Woolstenhulme, who announced his voluntary resignation on Oct. 3, said, “We have been made aware of the arrest of a former employee, Jeff Wilkes. While we are legally unable to comment publicly on any personnel issues, student and staff safety is an absolute priority in our school district, and we will be monitoring this active investigation closely.”
{div}District 401 school board chair Shannon-Brooks Hamby has been contacted by the Teton Valley News but has not yet provided comment on Wilkes’ arrest.{/div}
Wilkes, who taught physical education at Teton High School, was also accused of assaulting two of his players last winter in a separate incident after a wrestling event in Challis in February.
No charges were filed against Wilkes by the Custer County Prosecutor’s Office as a result of that incident. As reported by East Idaho News on June 21, the responding Custer County sheriff’s deputy was told by the Teton High School administration that they would handle the incident “in-house.”
The incident was outlined in an Idaho Department of Education Professional Standards Committee report which was published by the Jackson Hole News and Guide on Oct. 18.
The following description of the Challis incident has yet to be proven true or false and remains an allegation.
While at the Challis tournament, Wilkes and another coach were doing room checks to make sure wrestlers were resting for the next day’s matches. Wilkes and the coach entered a room where students were gathered.
As the students and coaches began joking with each other, the situation escalated. Wilkes allegedly followed a student into the room’s bathroom, where Wilkes wetted a towel and wrapped it under a restrained athlete’s chin, while the athlete was on the floor, and began lifting upwards.
Another student asked Wilkes to leave the room. Wilkes did not leave, and a student hit him with a pillow.
Wilkes then lashed out at the student with the towel. A student then executed a wrestling move on Wilkes, and began to choke Wilkes out.
Wilkes kicked the student off, and threw six to eight punches which left visible marks on the student. The situation was then broken up.
After the incident a Custer County sheriff’s report was filed by Teton High School students and parents. Wilkes ceased his involvement with Teton High School that month, both in the athletics department and in the classroom.
After resigning from his positions with Teton School District 401, Wilkes continued to be paid until the end of his contract with the district in August.
The alleged abuse by Wilkes concerning the Challis incident yielded significant questions from the community regarding how Teton School District 401 deals with matters of concern.
Speaking during a public comment period at the District 401 school board’s July 11 meeting, James Halpert, a former school board member, warned the board of what he perceived as its liability in the matter.
”If he’s being paid, is he still considered an employee of the school district?” Halpert asked the board. “What liability have you taken on as a school district for this person to continue to be employed? Maybe that’s not the way it works, but this is a small community, maybe he comes in contact with one of these students again. I don’t know what the answers are but those are things that pop up in my mind.”
Idaho Statute 33-518 dictates that the personnel records of school district employees are entirely confidential and not accessible to the public.
Superintendent Woolstenhulme told the Teton Valley News in August that “I know people are frustrated with school administration not sharing anything. We have a lot of limits on information we can share. While we recognize that there is a lot of information in the community, as school officials we have a very limited legal ability to disclose.”
He added that while he couldn’t discuss any specific details, he could explain the district’s policy for addressing any incidents or concerns.
Woolstenhulme said that an administrator, whether himself or a principal, reviews a report immediately, gathering information from individuals involved, whether those are students, witnesses, teachers, coaches or other adults with supervisory responsibilities. From that information, typically consequences or disciplinary measures are meted out to the student or staff member within the school. When warranted and if there is a legal concern, he said the administrator will report information to law enforcement “in a timely fashion,” at which point law enforcement conducts its own investigation.
If an issue arises with a school employee, the administrator also makes a report to the State Board of Education, which oversees certification. The state board then conducts its own investigation and review.
”In general in my experience that’s the procedure,” Woolstenhulme said. “With anything of significant concern, I am made aware so I can guide the school administrator. With any questions or concerns I’m not sure about, we consult with legal counsel to guide us and make sure what we’re doing is appropriate and legal. From there we work to address the concern, and a challenge we have is that if the concern is significant, it quickly becomes a confidential student matter or staff matter.”
The News and Guide reported that the Idaho Department of Education’s Professional Standards Commission will meet on Dec. 1 to vote on its executive committee’s recommendation to revoke Wilkes’ teaching license.
Wilkes tried to gain employment with the Thermopolis, Wyoming, School District in April. An offer of employment was given to Wilkes but was rescinded on May 18.
Former Teton Valley News Editor Julia Tellman and the Idaho State Journal contributed to this report.