Teacher arrested in West Sacramento; police say she sexually assaulted student in Washington
A former Washington state middle school teacher, accused of having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old male student, has been arrested in West Sacramento, police announced Thursday.
Natasha Nicole Polk, 33, who moved to West Sacramento, was arrested following an investigation by the Centralia Police Department, the agency said. Polk was booked this week at the Yolo County Jail, where she remained in custody Friday.
Polk appeared Friday afternoon for a hearing in Yolo Superior Court in Woodland to be arraigned on a charge of being a fugitive from justice. Authorities in Washington state obtained an arrest warrant for Polk.
Yolo Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg set Polk’s bail amount at $50,000 and scheduled her to return to court Sept. 23 to review an extradition order, according to the hearing’s minute order. The Yolo County Public Defender’s Office was appointed to represent her in court.
As part of the investigation, police learned she was employed as a teacher with the Davis Joint Unified School District in Northern California and was set to begin the school year on Monday.
Davis Joint Unified School District officials said they were notified on Thursday that Polk, a teacher at Harper Junior High School in Davis since August 2022, was arrested Wednesday in West Sacramento. They also learned then that Polk was accused of sex crimes involving a minor in Centralia, Washington in 2020.
School district officials said they took immediate action and placed Polk on administrative leave. Maria Clayton, a school district spokesperson, said district officials were “shocked and disturbed” after hearing of Polk’s arrest and the allegations.
“These charges are of the most serious nature,” Clayton said in a written statement. “The district will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and will do so until a final resolution of the charges.”
The Davis school district officials encouraged anyone who might have concerns or information about Polk to call the Davis Police Department at 530-747-5400.
In October 2023, Centralia police began investigating allegations of a relationship between the teacher and the student. Centralia is 21 miles south of Olympia, the state’s capital; the woman lived in Lacey, a suburb east of the city.
“The alleged acts occurred in 2020 while the victim was in the 8th grade and continued for a time after he completed middle school,” a Centralia police news release reads. “The investigation revealed evidence that (the teacher allegedly) provided the victim with marijuana, alcohol, and vapes.”
Police also alleged that she used her status as an educator to gain access to the victim while he was incarcerated at Lewis County Juvenile detention facility on unrelated issues.
The teacher in 2021 also allegedly would drive the victim to her apartment in Lacey and engage in sex after providing him with alcohol, according to police. Also the same year, she allegedly traveled back to Washington state and had sex with the victim at a vacation rental in Tacoma, police say.
As part of the investigation, police learned she was employed as a teacher with the Davis Joint Unified School District and was set to begin the school year next Monday.
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 2:33 PM.
