By Scott North
Herald Writer
Trial for a Snohomish County elementary school teacher accused of having sex with two teen-age boys may be delayed again after tests allegedly turned up genetic material on the woman’s bed that may have come from one of the boys.
Susan G. Lemery, 37, of Marysville is scheduled for trial Nov. 30. She has pleaded innocent to two counts of third-degree child rape and one count of third-degree child molestation. The charges involve two boys, both 14, who are friends of her teen-age son.
One of the boys alleged he and Lemery engaged in sex on top of the comforter on her bed. A dark blue comforter was seized from Lemery’s bedroom when she was arrested in June and sent to the Washington State Patrol crime lab for analysis.
Genetic testing of a semen stain found on the comforter concluded the boy "is a possible source of that DNA," while Lemery and her husband are not, according to a search warrant affidavit filed Tuesday in Snohomish County Superior Court.
The analysis done so far apparently used one of the less precise forms of genetic testing. A forensic expert at the crime lab told detectives Oct. 16 that the genetic pattern found in the semen occurs in roughly one in every 900 white people, court records show.
Lemery’s attorney, David Allen of Seattle, said he plans to file a motion postponing trial so more testing can be accomplished.
"I’m going to have to make my comments in court," he said of the test results so far.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Lisa Paul also declined comment.
Lemery, a popular second-grade teacher at Olivia Park Elementary School in south Everett, was placed on paid leave after her arrest. None of the children involved in the case were her students.
Prior to her arrest, Lemery had been the focus of repeated complaints to law officers, the courts and others, all centering around alleged misconduct with teens at her home.
The allegations first surfaced in November 2000, when the mother of one of the boys she allegedly had sex with went to court for an order barring contact. The woman took the step after catching her son slipping out a window to meet with Lemery early one morning, court papers show.
Lemery’s trial originally was set for Aug. 24, but was rescheduled for mid-October and later moved again to Nov. 30. She remains free on $75,000 bail and is under a court order restricting her contact with children.
You can call Herald Writer Scott North at 425-339-3431
or send e-mail to north@heraldnet.com.
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