Forks paraeducator accused of rape of a student

First appearance in court to be Friday

FORKS — A middle-school paraeducator has been arrested for investigation of child rape involving a 13-year-old student and an alleged drug offense, according to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.

Tammy Ann Leask, 39, a Quillayute Valley School District employee, was apprehended Thursday morning and booked into the Clallam County Jail shortly before noon, according to the jail roster.

Leask was arrested and held without bond for investigation of rape with a child-penile enhancement and possession of a controlled substance-manufacture-intent to deliver.

Her first appearance will be Friday in Clallam County Superior Court, Sheriff Bill Benedict said this afternoon.

“This is obviously a very big deal,” he said, adding Leask’s arrest was circulating on social media.

“A lot of people in Forks are discussing it as we speak.”

The alleged victim is a middle school boy with whom Leask had a sexual relationship from November 2019 to January 2020, beginning with sexual intercourse that occurred in a classroom, she told investigators, a sheriff’s office press release said.

“They continued their relationship outside of school,” according to the press release.

The drug charge grew out of Leask providing a controlled substance to a minor, according to the release. The sheriff’s office said she furnished the boy with the anxiety medication Xanax and alcoholic beverages.

The sheriff’s office began an investigation after it received information Tuesday from a district official that Leask may be involved in a sexual relationship with the boy.

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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.

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