An elementary school teacher in Spokane, Washington, has been arrested after she allegedly raped a student in her classroom.
Mahayla Benavides has been accused of raping the 10-year-old child on multiple occasions, according to the statement of facts filed in Spokane County Superior Court and viewed by KXLY. The student reportedly said that the abuse started around winter break.
Benavides was arrested on Thursday, March 12, for child rape and molestation, per the outlet.
Detectives with the Spokane Police Department first interviewed Benavides about the allegations at her home in February. She asked for a lawyer while speaking to authorities and said that she didn’t want to answer questions at the time.
Police then informed her that they were going to take a buccal swab as evidence. A buccal swab is a non-invasive method to collect DNA-containing cells from the inside of a person’s cheek by using a small cotton swab or brush.
After police told Benavides their plan, she reportedly asked if she could get her cell phone. Police said that she then “performed a ‘google search’ for a lawyer,” per the outlet.
Benavides — who was a special education teacher — continued to refuse to answer questions during the visit and the officers eventually left.
Amid the investigation, police collected evidence from her classroom at Stevens Elementary school, which included a bean bag chair that tested positive for a bodily fluid.
Investigators also spoke to the child, who claimed the abuse happened “sometimes as much as five times per day.” He alleged that the abuse often happened in a “time-out room,” though he said that Benavides would sometimes touch him sexually in the classroom with other kids present.
Benavides told the child not to tell anyone or else she would get in trouble and lose her job, per the affidavit.
The boy also told investigators that Benavides would sometimes give him brownies, as well as take sexual videos of herself and show them to him at school.
Police managed to obtain Benavides’ phone and found explicit videos of her talking to the camera as she undressed and pleasured herself. She even used the child’s name in one video, per the outlet.
In the affidavit, police said that they also found videos of Benavides appearing to perform a sexual act with the child in the classroom.
Following her arrest, Benavides attended her first court hearing on Friday, March 13. It is not currently clear if she has entered a plea or retained legal representation following her arrest.
The Spokane Police Department did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment.
Sweetser Law Office, the law firm representing the child’s family, issued a statement about the case on March 13. “Parents entrust schools with their children every day. That trust exists because families believe their children will be safe in the care of the adults responsible for them. Every child deserves that safety,” the statement said, per KXLY.
Additionally, prosecutors said that Benavides’ actions were “highly predatory” and noted that she was able to “keep her actions hidden for a long period of time.”
