Desert Pines teacher faces charges of sexual misconduct with student

A Desert Pines High School teacher and girls swim team coach was arrested Wednesday and charged with sex with a student, one day before his resignation was to become effective.

Jonathan A. Scheaffer, 23, was booked into Clark County Detention Center on 16 counts of sexual conduct between a school employee and a pupil between 16 and 17 years old, detention center records show.

Clark County School District police Lt. Darnell Couthen said police were tipped off by a concerned teacher Friday about a possible “inappropriate relationship” between Scheaffer and a student. When detectives began an investigation, they received additional information from a student which led police to detain Scheaffer Wednesday, the last day of the school year.

“The young lady confirmed there was an inappropriate relationship,” Couthen said. Now 18, the girl was a student at Desert Pines and 16 or 17 years old when Scheaffer had inappropriate contact with her during last year, Couthen said.

The age of consent in Nevada is 16, but Nevada law prohibits teachers from sexual conduct with students under the age of 18 and some school employees and volunteers under the age of 21.

According to the school’s website, Scheaffer is a science teacher at Desert Pines High School. He was the head coach of the girls swim team as well.

School district spokeswoman Michelle Booth confirmed Scheaffer started his employment with the district at the beginning of the 2014-15 school year and turned in his resignation last month, with a June 2 effective date.

Scheaffer identified himself as a Teach for America recruit on his profile on the business social network LinkedIn.

Teach for America, a national nonprofit organization, places recent college graduates into at-risk schools for two years.

Scheaffer’s profile on LinkedIn boasts his selection through Teach for America’s “competitive” interview process and his assignment in “our nation’s lowest performing school district.”

His profile also lists human rights, education and children as causes Scheaffers “cares about.”

In 2015, Scheaffer received an annual pay of $34,776.24, with total pay and benefits of $54,799.52, according to salary records on TransparentNevada.com.

Each of the 16 charges carries a $5,000 bail, for a total of $80,000, detention center records show. Scheaffer is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

Scheaffer’s arrest Wednesday marks the second consecutive school year in Clark County which has ended in the arrest of a teacher on grounds of sexual misconduct.

On June 4, 2015, Jason Lofthouse was arrested on the last day of the school year for numerous charges of having sex with a student and kidnapping. A teacher at Rancho High School at the time, Lofthouse was arrested for multiple charges, including sexual conduct with a student between the ages of 16 and 17, first-degree kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, court documents show.

Lofthouse was convicted in March and sentenced on May 17 to serve between six and 15 years in prison, according to court records.

Review-Journal reporter Neal Morton contributed to this story. Contact Christian Bertolaccini at cbertolaccini@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find @bertolaccinic on Twitter. Contact Neal Morton at 702-383-0279. Follow @nealmorton on Twitter.