Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

CCSD Police reopen investigation into teacher accused of having sex with student

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John Stalmach

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Bambi Dewey

The Clark County School District Police Department reopened a 2009 investigation into a Henderson teacher arrested earlier this week on felony charges of having sex with an underaged student.

John Stalmach, 31, and fellow teacher Bambi Dewey, 32, are accused of having three-way sex with a Basic High School student at a Henderson home shared by the former couple last December. The female student was 16 at the time and a student at Brown Junior High School, according to an arrest report.

The report also revealed that Stalmach previously had been accused in 2009 of improprieties with another freshman girl at Basic High.

District police investigated allegations that Stalmach texted and showed “pornographic type” pictures to the student. The investigation produced no evidence of a crime and Stalmach was not charged.

Instead, the School District issued a 20-day suspension, the maximum penalty for a discipline issue, and transferred Stalmach from Basic High to Dailey Elementary School, where he is a physical education teacher.

That earlier investigation is now being reopened in light of the sex charges this week, district spokeswoman Amanda Fulkerson said. The new police department administration is looking to see if officers missed anything in the earlier investigation, she said.

"Here at CCSD, we take student interaction with adults very seriously," she said. "The case is being reopened to see if there is enough (evidence) for any charges to be brought. We think it's deserving of a full review."

Fulkerson urged parents to talk to students and report any signs of inappropriate behavior to school and police authorities.

Stalmach and Dewey were arrested Monday after being tipped by Dewey's ex-husband, who told authorities he had heard from Dewey's sister that the couple had three-way sex with a high school student.

The student told police she met Stalmach and Dewey when she was a student at Brown Junior High School, where the couple taught. The student told police she sometimes baby-sat Dewey's children, spending the night at the couple's Henderson home.

During winter break in 2011, the couple and the student drank shots of whiskey and engaged in three-way sex, police said. Stalmach and the student also had sex in the home in January 2012 while Dewey was away, police said.

In addition to drinking alcohol with the teacher couple, the student told police she smoked marijuana several times with Stalmach and Dewey. The couple broke up after several years because Stalmach would not commit to marriage, Dewey told police.

Both teachers were suspended without pay by the School District. They face felony charges of solicitation of a minor over the age of 14 for sex, and Stalmach faces an additional charge of sexual conduct between a teacher and student.

If the teachers are found guilty of their charges, they will be removed from the district, Fulkerson said. Under their union contract, the teachers – if removed – may fight their dismissal in arbitration.

Dewey was released from custody on Tuesday after posting a $20,000 bond. Stalmach is free after posting a $60,000 bond. Both are scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. Oct. 1 in Henderson Justice Court.

Sun reporter Conor Shine contributed to this report

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