Northern California teacher arrested for alleged sexual relationship with Washington minor

DAVIS – A middle school teacher in Davis is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl in Washington state, authorities said Thursday.

Police in Centralia, Washington, said officers began investigating Natasha Polk, currently at Harper Junior High in Davis, California, in October 2023, for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a young student.

Polk is accused of giving the boy marijuana, alcohol and e-cigarettes and having sex with him on multiple occasions. The alleged sexual relationship occurred when the student was in 8th grade and for a time after he graduated from middle school, Centralia police said.

Centralia police said Polk also used her status as a teacher to gain access to the boy while he was incarcerated at the juvenile hall.

Polk reportedly continued to have contact with the boy when she moved to West Sacramento, California, east of the city of Davis, in 2021. Later that year, police say Polk traveled back to Washington and rented an Airbnb in the city of Tacoma, where the two again had sex.

The investigation, which began last October, led Washington authorities to seek an arrest warrant for Polk. That warrant was issued on August 20, 2024, six days before the first day of school in the Davis Joint Unified School District.

Centralia police said the investigator working on Polk's case drove south to California and arrested Polk at her home on Aug. 21 with assistance from West Sacramento police.

Polk remained in custody at the Yolo County Jail on Thursday, awaiting transport back to Washington.

When the Davis Joint Unified School District learned of Polk's arrest, it announced that it had placed her on leave.

Maria Clayton, a district spokeswoman, said Polk has been employed by the district since August 2022. Clayton said the district will continue to work with law enforcement.