Pierce County 5th-grade teacher charged with molesting his students. Bail set at $100K

Apr. 22—A fifth grade teacher in the Peninsula School District is accused of molesting his female students.

Pierce County prosecutors charged Jordan Roy Henderson, 34, with nine counts of first-degree child molestation, court record show. He was arrested April 18 at his Gig Harbor home following a two-month investigation. Henderson is on administrative leave, according to the Peninsula School District.

Charging documents say three children allegedly were victimized by Henderson.

A plea of not guilty was entered on Henderson's behalf at his Friday arraignment. Pierce County Superior Court commissioner Barbara McInvaille set his bail at $100,000. If released, Henderson will have to be on a home-monitoring device.

Attorney Kevin Hastings of Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala (PCVA) is representing one of the children. The child alleged she was sexually abused by Henderson when she was his student in fourth grade during the 2022-23 school year and then in fifth grade during this school year.

Hastings said he believes Henderson has been an educator for about nine to 10 years. A K-12 public schools database shows that Henderson has taught at Peninsula School District since 2018-19.

Henderson is a deacon at the Wellspring Fellowship Church in Key Peninsula where his father is the pastor. The church's website lists Henderson as a member of the staff.

Three rows of seats at the courthouse were filled with church parishioners, including Henderson's parents, in-laws and his wife, Henderson's defense attorney said during the hearing. The attorney requested that, if released, Henderson be able to go to church while on a home-monitoring device. The court denied that request.

The Wellspring Fellowship Church stated in a Facebook post made by Henderson's father, Chris Henderson, that the church supports him.

"While some would have you focus on alarm bells and your greatest fears about what you do not know, I want to encourage you with confidence about what I do know," the Facebook post read. "I know Jordan to be of the highest quality and character as a man. He is a great husband, a great father, a great teacher."

Before bail was set, one of the students, her mother and the mother of another victim spoke to the court to describe how Henderson's alleged actions have affected them.

One of the mothers whose child was not present said that her daughter has nightmares about Henderson.

"She won't say his name, she just says, 'My nightmare was about him again,'" the mother said emotionally. "Every time we go into Target or Costco or any other store, we're looking around to make sure we don't run into him."

The mother of the child who was present in court described Henderson as an "evil, evil person" and that she is concerned for the safety of his victims and other children in general if he were to be released.

"She won't set foot in the school building. The nightmares, the trauma, it's just been absolutely horrific," she said.

When McInvaille asked the child what she would like to do as far as imposing bail, she replied, "Don't let him go home."

"It's horrible. Like, I can't sleep without crying. I fall asleep crying, and I can't look at a school building without getting triggered," the child said while in tears. "I'm scared he's gonna come back."

Charging details

Throughout their investigation, detectives spoke to students who either experienced the alleged abuse or witnessed it.

Detectives spoke to an 11-year-old student on March 1 who said that Henderson had touched her and other girls in the class inappropriately since she was in his class last year as a fourth grader. The student said the alleged touching happened a couple weeks after she started fourth grade, charging documents show.

Henderson groped the student, and she told him it made her uncomfortable. Henderson then told the student that the touching was "something normal that teachers do, and to not go telling other people about it." She began to believe him, documents show.

In another instance, the student told detectives that Henderson asked her and her friends to stay in the classroom during lunch. Henderson told the girls he cares about them and asked if there were any issues between them. He then allegedly went around touching all the girls, documents show.

She then said Henderson touched her "private part" and grabbed her thighs. The student said that Henderson is known as the "chill" teacher and let them be loud, documents show. The student described the class as "crazy" and said Henderson did not do anything to stop it.

Henderson allegedly would hold the girl's hand, wink at her during school hours or tell her she looked beautiful. The student said she thought it was unusual for a teacher to say that to a student, document show.

The student said that during another time, Henderson groped her when she was sitting in the library area of the classroom. He would leave his hand on her "private" part over her clothing, documents show.

The student said that she noticed that Henderson never behaved with the boys like he did with the girls. Henderson would allegedly get angry and not let her play games that the other students were allowed to play if she stopped him from touching her, documents say.

Detectives spoke to a student on March 8 who said Henderson allegedly groped her on Feb. 15. She did not return to school until Feb. 26 where she reported the incident to the school.

The student said that she was sitting in a chair and Henderson touched her "bottom." He continued to touch her inappropriately, and she kept trying to scoot back in her chair so he would stop, documents show. At recess, Henderson went up to her multiple times and apologized, asking if he could do anything to make it up for her.

The student said that in another instance during a bus ride to a field trip, Henderson sat next to her and allegedly put his hand on her bottom. The student said she has been scared since the assault and noticed that other girls in the class are also afraid of their teacher, documents show.

Another student of Henderson's told detectives on March 13 that she noticed her teacher touching her friend inappropriately in class. The student said she believed the touching happened to several girls during the previous school year, documents show. The student said Henderson would target girls who dressed in "fancy" skirts and dresses.

She said that one time Henderson allegedly touched and slapped a student's lower behind. In another instance, when they were reading as a class, Henderson allegedly put his arm around a girl and touched her chest. She said Henderson was "rubbing her," documents say.

Hastings told The News Tribune that if adults at the school paid closer attention, as they are required to in Washington, then they would have noticed Henderson's abuse sooner.

"These situations of adults who commit sex crimes against children don't just happen in a vacuum, they're often times not just crimes of opportunity. It's a process of selecting, grooming and then executing," He said. "That process is well known to educators, to folks who have duties to protect children. And had they been supervising sufficiently, the signs in my view are always there to be seen."

This story was originally published April 19, 2024, 4:05 PM.

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