Former Pe Ell school employee accused of sending inappropriate messages to girl gets suspended sentence

A former Pe Ell School District contract employee accused of sending inappropriate messages to a female student in December entered a guilty plea Friday to fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation.

The employee, Evan Lynn Schimelpfenig, 35, of Doty, used an Alford plea, which allows him to take advantage of a plea deal without admitting guilt, and an In Re Barr plea, which allows him to enter a guilty plea to lesser charges.

He was sentenced Friday to 364 days in jail, with 363 days suspended for 24 months, meaning he does not have to serve the jail sentence as long as he follows his conditions of release for the duration of the suspension.

The court also imposed a no-contact order prohibiting Schimelpfenig from having any contact with the student or the Pe Ell School District.

Schimelpfenig was arrested Dec. 19 after the Pe Ell School District reported the messages to local law enforcement the day prior.

A deputy with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reviewed the messages, which included five pages of correspondence via email and 12 pages of Snapchat messages. The messages reportedly include sexual comments, mentions of “a rumor going around school about the two having a relationship,” and three photos of the student’s cleavage, according to court documents. Nothing in the messages indicate the two had physical contact.

When questioned by a deputy, the student reportedly “confirmed the messages,” admitted to sending photographs to Schimelpfenig and “said there was no physical contact between them,” according to court documents.

Schimelpfenig allegedly “admitted to the relationship” when interviewed by a deputy at his residence, according to court documents.

Prior to his arrest, Schimelpfenig worked for the Pe Ell School District as an IT technician and was the adviser for the school’s esports team.

Schimelpfenig was charged Dec. 20 with one gross misdemeanor count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. He was released from the Lewis County Jail on his own personal recognizance that same day, with conditions of release prohibiting him from having any contact with minors.

The gross misdemeanor charge has since been dismissed from Lewis County District Court. The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office re-filed the case in Lewis County Superior Court on Feb. 7, this time charging Schimelpfenig with one count of felony communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

Trial for the case was scheduled to begin Oct. 8. That trial has been canceled due to the resolution of the case.