Police: Oregon Teacher Arrested for Attempted Rape of Children

Officials announced Monday the arrest of an Oregon elementary teacher “for communicating with minors for immoral purposes” and allegedly trying to rape a child.

Washington’s Redmond Police said detectives performed an undercover operation with decoy profiles on social media and dating apps to make contact with and meet the suspect in the case.

The operation initially began in October when Andrew Hammond, 50, was told he was chatting with a 14-year-old girl, and he eventually communicated with another Redmond detective, believing the person to be 13.

“He continued to engage in sexually motivated conversations with the investigators, believing they were minors. Hammond is a fourth-grade teacher in an elementary school in McMinnville, Oregon,” the news release continued:

After months of sexually motivated communications, Hammond proposed meeting with the minors at a hotel in Redmond on March 25 to engage in sexual activity. He was arrested after checking into his hotel room. Redmond police executed a search warrant on his vehicle and located additional evidence indicating Hammond was planning to engage in sexual acts with the minors, including condoms, lubricant, handcuffs, and duct tape.

Fox 12 contacted the McMinnville School District regarding Hammond’s case and the district said in a statement it was aware an employee had been arrested in Washington.

However, it had no information about illegal activity in the area, adding officials were working with authorities and Hammond had since been put on administrative leave.

The district noted, “[Hammond] is a first-year elementary teacher in our district and has not been involved in any district after-school activities or other student contact positions.”

Family members in the teacher’s classroom were also informed about what happened.

Meanwhile, the suspect was charged with four counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes, attempted rape of a child in the second degree, and attempted rape of a child in the third degree.

Authorities were holding the man on a $100,000 bail.

Police Chief Darrell Lowe commented, “Any time we can take child predators off the streets for such egregious crimes against children is a win for our community. The important message for parents is to monitor your children’s activities on their phones and computers.”

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) website said the ages of 12 through 34 were considered the highest risk years for an individual to become a victim of rape and sexual assault.