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Teacher accused of sexually abusing third grader at West Valley City charter school

Posted at 9:31 PM, Apr 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-24 23:32:07-04

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A teacher at Endeavor Hall in West Valley City is accused of sexually abusing one of his third grade students.

“I’m feeling sick,” said Jeanie Bigham whose daughter is in the teacher’s class. “I couldn’t believe that actually, and I was confused because we love him.”

33-year-old Kyle Hill was pulled out of class Monday evening after allegations he had touched and taken nude photos of a nine-year-old boy.

“As a school, I would say we take the safety of our students very seriously,” school president Simon Raubenheimer said.  He said that Hill didn’t raise any red flags over the three years he had been teaching at the school.

Investigators also believe Hill took illegal pictures of the boy on at least 10 different occasions.

According to a probable cause statement, the boy told police Hill would take the photos while the other students were at recess.

The boy also told police Hill visited him at home on April 21, and that he gave Hill a tour of the house.

"When [the boy] showed Mr. Hill his bedroom, Mr. Hill laid down on his bed. [the boy] said that Mr. Hill had come over to watch Harry Potter, but that they never actually watched it. [the boy] explained that Mr. Hill spoke to [the boy] about the movies Braveheart and Deadpool. Mr. Hill reportedly talked about what he did during the sex scenes in each movie," according to a probable cause statement.

Hill has been booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Police believe there may be other victims since Hill has taught at Endeavor Hall for three years and was a student teacher at Timpanogos Elementary in Provo.

“It is my fear because so many people trusted him, and he was loved,” Bigham added.  She said she’s going to have her daughter visit with a therapist.

“I fear that some children may have put too much trust into someone very scary.”