Richland science teacher charged with molesting 2 students. Allegations go back decades

A Richland High School science teacher is accused of inappropriately touching girls and looking down their shirts and forcing himself on at least one girl after pushing her up onto a desk.

Felony charges against John M. Bittinger, 61, reflect allegations involving two Tri-Cities teens.

However, police and prosecutors say a number of former students — going back a few decades to Bittinger’s teaching days in Everett in the late 1980s — have come forward. They claimed he sexually assaulted them or that his physical contact in the classroom made them uncomfortable, according to court documents.

An investigation was started in November 2019 after Richland School District officials received a series of complaints.

He was arrested then and briefly held in the county jail before posting $10,000 bail.

On Wednesday, Bittinger appeared in Benton County Superior Court on two counts of third-degree child molestation, both with aggravating circumstances that he used his position of trust to commit the crimes.

The West Richland man pleaded innocent to the charges, and is scheduled for trial May 2.

Attorney Scott Johnson asked that his client be allowed to remain out of custody on his own recognizance.

“This case has been investigated for years — and that’s no exaggeration — for years, and there’s been no issues,” said Johnson.

He added that Bittinger has cousins who are minors that he would like to see, and they could arrange for another person to supervise the visits. The lawyer will bring that back to court once he has more details.

Travel restricted

In the meantime, Judge Jacqueline Stam ordered Bittinger to turn over his passport to the Richland Police Department and not travel outside Washington state.

She also told Bittinger he is to have no contact with any children under 18 while his case is pending and to stay away from any locations where children congregate, like schools, parks and playgrounds.

Bittinger was placed on administrative leave from the Richland School District when the misconduct allegations came to light more than two years ago.

He remains on leave and is still a district employee, Galt Pettett, the school district’s attorney, told the Tri-City Herald after Bittinger’s court appearance.

A previous Herald story says he used to teach in Everett’s Cascade High School, and has been working in Richland since 2008.

The longtime science teacher was recognized in 2011 when he along with two other Richland staff members used a defibrillator to save the life of a 15-year-old student who suffered a medical condition at school.

Classroom assault

But in Fall 2019, a high school student disclosed that she had twice been sexually assaulted by Bittinger in class when no one else was present, according to court documents.

In the second incident, the girl said she was there to make up a lab session when Bittinger used his body to push her body onto his desk so she was seated facing her teacher.

Bittinger then forcibly removed the girl’s underwear and pulled down his own pants, exposing himself, as he tried to inappropriately touch her, documents said.

The girl claimed that she told Bittinger, “No,” and to stop it, and squirmed around until she eventually was able to kick him in the groin and run out of the classroom.

She told police she believed Bittinger was trying to rape her.

Another teenager reported that during the 2018-19 school year, Bittinger “looked down her shirt and was very touchy while she was in his class,” court documents said.

On at least three occasions, Bittinger put his hand on her butt and left it there until she walked away from him in class, she said.

The girl described another time when she made a grunting noise as she sat down at her desk. Bittinger asked if that was her, and said she sounded like a boy, documents said.

The teacher then allegedly walked to the girl’s desk and squatted down to look underneath, telling her, “I had to make sure you’re still a girl.”

The girl, who had been wearing a dress, explained to police that she felt violated by Bittinger’s actions.

Bittinger was arrested at home in December 2019. He reportedly talked with Richland police detectives at length and denied all of the students’ allegations.

Everett allegations

As investigators continued to work the case through September 2021, additional women came forward with their own stories of Bittinger’s alleged conduct in the classroom.

One woman who now lives out of state said she learned of Bittinger’s arrest and wanted to share her own experience from Everett High School.

The former student said Bittinger would touch girls’ butts, look down their shirts and make “rude and sexual jokes in class,” court documents show. She made every effort not to be alone with him in the classroom.

But in 1987, she reported, she was in the class after school when the only other student there at the time left.

Bittinger walked up behind the girl, pushed her into a desk and rubbed against her, she said.

The girl said Bittinger then touched her inappropriately over her clothes, leading her to quickly jump away from him, documents said.

Bittinger replied with, “I didn’t mean to get that close to you,” and tried to play it off like it was unintentional, documents said.

The woman told investigators that she liked Bittinger as her teacher, and recalled “being shocked at what he did.”

This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 2:59 PM.