Renton High School teacher pleads not guilty to sexual misconduct charges

Nicholas Yale was put on leave in May 2022 when the school was notified by two students that he had been sending them sexually explicit texts.

A former music teacher and gymnastics coach at Renton High School was charged on Nov. 14 allegedly having inappropriate relationships with at least three of his students.

Nicholas Yale, 30, was charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor and two counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes, according to the King County Superior Court. This month, Yale pleaded not guilty for the three charges against him.

Charging documents accuse Yale of seeking out inappropriate relationships with at least three of his students beginning in 2019 and up until he resigned from Renton High School in May 2022.

The document alleges that Yale had a pattern where he would reportedly tell each girl that he was attracted to them and that he had a sex addiction before sending them sexually explicit text messages.

On May 4, Renton police were notified that Renton High School was investigating allegations made against Yale. The police report, written by Detective Robert Onishi, said the two girls, a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old, were both students of Yale’s, documents state.

According to the report, Yale and the 17-year-old were allegedly only texting for a couple days before she told the 15-year-old about what was happening, to which the younger girl reportedly said that she and Yale had also exchanged texts a month earlier, starting on April 6.

The two girls then told school administrators, which led to Yale being put on leave and Renton Police opening an investigation.

During the investigation, police found that while Yale was allegedly texting the 15-year-old and the 17-year-old, he was living with a 19-year-old former student, according to court documents.

Yale reportedly began texting the 19-year-old in December 2019 when she was a student at Renton High School and their relationship became physical in January 2021, according to court documents. The 19-year-old then moved in with Yale in February, four months before she gradated from Renton High.

When the 19-year-old learned why Yale had been put on-leave from the school, their relationship ended.

Yale’s trial date is set for Feb. 28, 2023.