PLEASANT GROVE, Utah — A history and guided studies teacher at Pleasant Grove Junior High School has been arrested after allegedly sexually abusing a student.
Keaton Tanner, 29, was taken into custody on Wednesday and faces charges of rape of a child and tampering with a witness.
According to the arrest report filed by a Pleasant Grove police officer, Keaton had sex with the student when she was between 12 and 13 years old. However, the report did not state when the abuse alleged by the student occurred.
A friend of the alleged victim contacted police after the victim told her "she had a secret," and then shared what had occurred between her and Tanner while she was an 8th grade student at the junior high school.
According to the victim's friend, Tanner had sex with the student at his former apartment in Orem. When the friend why the relationship ended, the victim said it was after Tanner "got ruff (sic) with her pushing her into a dark closet and raping her."
Both the friend and victim went to Turner's current residence in American Fork to confront him about the relationship, also sharing the information with an unknown woman at the home. After leaving, the friend and victim were sitting in a vehicle when Tanner knocked on a window and got into the back seat.
As the friend of the victim recorded what happened, Tanner allegedly told the victim to tell "'her' they just made out or something and didn't have sex." Tanner added that he would give the girl "a bunch of money" and had $500 in his car. When we returned after going to his car, he said he had only $50.
In an interview with officials, the victim said what had occurred was "very hard to talk about" multiple times and asked to leave, ending the interview.
When the administration of Pleasant Grove Junior High School was notified about the allegations against Tanner, the assistant principal "was heard telling another employee it was probably (victims' name) which happened to be correct," the report states. The assistant principal said school officials had previously spoken with Tanner to "tell him to stop having victim in his classroom all the time alone."
The principal told police that about 10 days before police spoke to school officials, Tanner put in to take a one-year sabbatical to Germany.
"It is feared [Tanner] is trying to flee the country as he asked for the sabbatical shortly after being confronted by the victim and complainant," the officer wrote.
During a police interview, Tanner told detectives that the victim was not one of his students, adding, "I think she liked me." He added that he would see the student a lot when the family moved to the same Orem apartment complex where he lived. According to the arrest report, the victim's mother said she had allowed the victim "to choose the apartment where they moved to."
Tanner has been placed on administrative leave by the Alpine School District, which is cooperating with the police investigation.
"The welfare of our students is non-negotiable," the district said in a statement. "All district employees undergo a criminal background check prior to beginning employment. When we learn of employee conduct that may violate the trust patrons have placed in us, we take appropriate action to protect students.
