A longtime Holbrook Junior High School art teacher was arrested July 1 on a felony count of sexual abuse, two days after he signed a separation agreement with the Holbrook Unified School District in the performing arts center and told its governing board in open session that he was innocent and had been “completely vindicated.”
The charge stems from an allegation that Tucker touched a 16-year-old female student’s breast at the end of an event at Holbrook High School in early May. According to notes written by HHS Principal Clete Hargrave released by the district, the student came to the administrator’s office with a staff advisor at 11:35 a.m. on May 8, roughly an hour after the event and reported that Tucker “ran his hand across her chest as he walked past” while saying goodbye to her. Asked to demonstrate, the girl showed that Tucker had run “his right hand, open palm towards the chest,” across her chest from left to right, the notes state.
School officials reported the incident to Superintendent Dr. Robbie Koerperich, placed Tucker on leave, contacted Holbrook police and the Department of Child Safety the same day, and canvassed six students identified as potential witnesses, according to the district’s notes. None of those interviewed said they saw the interaction.
On May 11, after a facilities employee mentioned a recently installed camera in the performing arts center, Hargrave and the school resource officer, Navajo County Sheriff’s Deputy Boston Bentley, reviewed its footage. “The video aligned with [the student’s] statement,” Hargrave wrote.
Tucker, who had taught in the district for about seven years, agreed to a voluntary interview with Bentley and a NCSO detective on May 12. According to the report, he denied intentionally touching the student. He told investigators he had been distracted while reaching into a box of treats, saying, “I can guess when I grabbed (a) Rice Krispie, I probably brushed her. That’s what I’m guessing at this point.”
On June 12, the Investigative Unit of the Arizona State Board of Education notified Tucker that it completed its investigation in this matter and determined that no complaint will be filed. The letter, signed by Senior Investigator Scott Reutter, added a caveat, stating that “while no complaint relative to the noted allegations will be filed at this time, in the event of any new allegation(s) of unprofessional conduct, these matters may be considered along with any new allegation(s).” The letter does not state that Investigative Unit of the Arizona State Board of Education reviewed the surveillance video and its language leaves the matter open to reconsideration if new allegations arise.
During a special board meeting on June 29, Tucker and the school district signed a mutual separation agreement under which he resigned effective June 30. The superintendent withdrew a pending recommendation for termination and the district agreed to record the separation as a voluntary resignation, limiting future employment verifications to dates of employment, positions held and voluntary resignation. Tucker received an earned leave buyout of $975 from the district and the agreement states that it does not constitute an admission of liability by either side and notes the state board’s closure of its file.
During the special meeting, Tucker asked that the discussion of his resignation be held in open session rather than behind closed doors. Reading from a prepared statement that he asked to be attached to the permanent minutes, Tucker told the board he was an innocent man with absolutely nothing to hide. Stating the state board had, “Completely vindicated me and officially closed their file with zero findings of fault.”
He also accused the district of violating his due process rights, saying his health insurance was canceled “before I was ever given a formal statement of charges” and asserting that the superintendent had acknowledged his name. “(It) was already sitting on the HR desk along with everyone else who would not be returning the next year. I am leaving this district with my head held high and my reputation fully intact,” Tucker stated.
Two days after that meeting, sheriff’s deputies went to Tucker’s home in Snowflake and arrested him for one count of sexual abuse.
As of press time the Navajo County Attorney’s Office has not filed formal charges. Tucker has denied wrongdoing throughout, both to investigators and in his public statement to the board. A charge is an accusation, and Tucker is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in court.
