WENATCHEE — A former Wenatchee elementary teacher accused of kissing a student pleaded guilty Tuesday to a gross misdemeanor.
A plea agreement in the case was reached Monday — the day jury selection began for his 12-person jury trial.
Joe Vincent Ells, 62, was initially charged with first-degree molestation. He was accused of kissing a second-grade student multiple times during the 2005-2006 school year at Columbia Elementary School, according to court documents filed in Chelan County Superior Court.
Authorities believe Ells kissed another second-grade girl once during the 2005-06 school but was only ever charged in connection to one alleged victim.
Ells, an East Wenatchee resident, was arrested in August 2019 and released that same month from the Chelan County Regional Justice Center on $10,000 bail.
He pleaded guilty Tuesday in Superior Court to one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
As a part of Ells' plea deal, Chelan County prosecutors are recommending a six-month jail sentence, and that Ells receive a "sexual deviancy examination," register as a sex offender and enter into a two-year no contact order with the victim.
"I have come to understand and appreciate the pain that I have caused the victim in this case," said Ells in a statement prepared as part of his plea agreement. "I should never have kissed her. While I deny I (did) so with a sexual motivation, I wish to plead guilty."
Ells' sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 3.
Ells has been on leave with the school district since 2019.
"After his arrest, Mr. Ells was put on leave and did not return to teaching," said Diana Haglund, Wenatchee School District spokesperson in an email. "The school district did complete its own investigation."
Ells is not listed in the Wenatchee School District's teacher directory.
Ells was paid $282,481 over three school years while on "certified on leave" from the 2019-2020 school year to the 2021-2022 school year, according to the state Office of Financial Management.
