A teacher and coach at North Central High School is accused of sexual misconduct with two 16-year-old girls at the school in late March.
Andre Ervin, 47, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to first-degree viewing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, second-degree sexual misconduct and two counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
Ervin's attorney, Bevan Maxey, told The Spokesman-Review his client is presumed innocent of the charges and asked people to hold judgment until all evidence has been presented.
Ervin is a teacher and boys basketball coach at North Central High School. He was also a standout basketball player at Community Colleges of Spokane and was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 2008.
He was placed on leave from "all district positions" because of the charges, according to an email from Ryan Lancaster, Spokane Public Schools spokesman.
"Student safety is always the top priority of Spokane Public Schools," Lancaster wrote. "We are unable to comment on ongoing employee legal matters. Any reports regarding safety are taken seriously and are communicated to appropriate law enforcement and state agencies."
One of the students told police that, on March 30, she approached Ervin as he was seated at his desk to ask him a schoolwork question. Ervin put his arm out and pulled her in close so his face was at her "breast level," holding her tight for an extended period, she alleged in court documents.
The same day, she said Ervin rubbed her back while she was at her desk.
The other teen said she and Ervin passed notes to each other while she was serving in-school suspension March 28, she told police.
She said one of Ervin's notes asked what she thought of him and another said, "Are we flirting?" She wrote a note back to him that insinuated they were flirting, documents say.
She told police that, later, Ervin touched her thigh and knee and moved his hand up and down her leg for three to five minutes at her desk. After helping another student, she said Ervin returned to her desk, crouched again and rubbed her breast with his hand and gripped her thigh.
Ervin asked her if she could stay after class and told her he wanted to see her over the summer, she told police. The next day, Ervin asked the student if she and the other girl "get down," and if the student would put nude photos of herself on a USB drive for him, documents say. Ervin had her phone at the time because she turned it in to him at the start of the school day.
Shortly after, Ervin told her he wanted to see her nude photos, the documents say. She said she opened the phone and Ervin took it into the bathroom for five to 10 minutes before putting the phone back in his desk.
She said Ervin motioned that he wanted her to unlock her phone again, so she did. He took her phone to the bathroom for another 10 minutes. Ervin told her later that day "he really liked those pictures" and "you're really hot," she told police.
Ervin told police he is the "in-school suspension teacher" at the high school, and that he commonly keeps students' phones during the school day. He recalled hearing the two girls having an inappropriate conversation and engaging with them about it in a "lighthearted way," according to documents.
Ervin acknowledged passing notes with one of the girls and believed the girl was flirting with him based on her mannerisms and because her "breasts were hanging out of her shirt," he told police. Ervin said he wanted to "verify his suspicions," documents say.
He said he touched one of the student's breasts and thigh, but that he "slipped" when it happened.
Ervin told police he could have handled the situation better, acknowledged engaging in conversations he should not have and said he was not proud of himself.
Ervin is scheduled for trial Sept. 25.
