Prosecutor: Teacher had sex with 16-year-old student, used girlfriend's house as rendezvous point

TACOMA -- A 30-year-old high school biology teacher is charged with having sex with a 16-year-old student, allegedly often taking the student to his girlfriend's house while she was at work.

Christopher Andrew McKay, 30, is charged with four counts of sexual misconduct for allegedly having sex with a student at Washington High School in Parkland.

According to court documents, the student came forward to police on Jan. 30, alleging she had sex with McKay two or three times a month since April, 2014. McKay, the alleged victim's 10th grade biology teacher, befriended the girl when she was in the 11th grade, when she would come to school early and study in his classroom. The victim told police the two began to communicate via text in March.

In mid-April, the victim told police, she and McKay went on a walk at Sunnyside Beach and later had sex in his car. The two then met often at McKay's girlfriend house, court documents allege. McKay's girlfriend even once walked in on the pair at her home, court documents allege, and McKay claimed the girl's mother was undergoing cancer treatment and he was there to give the girl emotional support.

The victim told police McKay tried to end the relationship gradually, saying he knew it was wrong. The relationship grew so intense, the victim told police, that she began cutting herself and having suicidal intentions.

The victim told police in late January she had a panic attack and encouraged McKay to stay home from school. He refused, documents show, and the victim later received a call from a man claiming to be McKay's lawyer, saying that she needed to leave McKay's house immediately. McKay and the victim allegedly communicated only a few times after the call.

McKay was arraigned Wednesday and released on personal recognizance.