Local News

A teacher at Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, admitting he had a sexual relationship with one of his students.

Eli Godbolt, 33, was arrested Oct. 1 and later charged with two counts of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, according to court records. One of the charges was dismissed as a result of Godbolt’s guilty plea, court records show.

He was released from custody after posting a $25,000 bond in November, but was ordered back into the custody of the King County Jail on Thursday following his plea, according to jail and court records.

King County prosecutors will recommend that Godbolt serve a year in jail when he is sentenced April 26, said spokesman Dan Donohoe.

An English and math teacher, Godbolt professed his love to a 16-year-old girl in May 2011, and they began having unprotected sex that September, according to charging documents. The girl, now 17, ended the relationship in April 2012; she told her mother in September that she had been having sex with Godbolt, and her mother called police, charging papers say.

Godbolt, a father of two who is currently going through a divorce, was placed on administrative leave by the Federal Way School District following his arrest, and later resigned, according to charging papers and court documents.

An Edmonds police officer charged with having sex with a woman he had detained in May has resigned from the department.

Officer Daniel Lavely was charged on Nov. 1 with first-degree custodial sexual misconduct, a felony. Lavely, 48, had been with the Edmonds Police Department for eight years.

Lavely’s resignation came after he was told that the department had investigated his alleged crimes and he faced possible termination, according to a department press release.

According to charges filed by Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Adam Cornell, Lavely first contacted the alleged victim, a 28-year-old Seattle woman, after she reportedly jaywalked on Highway 99 in Edmonds on the night of May 6.

Early the next morning, Lavely encountered the same woman while responding to a 911 call about her fleeing from the emergency room at Swedish Medical Center, Edmonds Campus. Lavely found the woman at a nearby motel and placed her in the back of his patrol car.

The Seattle woman told investigators that Lavely drove her to the “poorly lit back parking lot” of the Burlington Coat Factory in Edmonds and forced the woman into sex, charges said.

While Everett police say the woman was not handcuffed, the charges say that she was “detained, under arrest or in the custody of the defendant.”

Everett police were brought in to investigate the sexual-misconduct allegation.

An Edmonds police officer accused of having sex with a women he had detained in May was charged today with first-degree custodial sexual misconduct, a felony.

Officer Daniel Lavely, 47, was a  7 ½-year veteran of the department when he was arrested by Everett police in June. He has been on administrative leave from the Edmonds Police Department since his arrest.

According to charges filed by Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Adam Cornell, Lavely contacted the 28-year-old Seattle woman after she allegedly jaywalked on Highway 99 in Edmonds on the night of May 6. Early the next morning, Lavely encountered the same woman while handling a 911 call and placed her in the back of his patrol car.

The Seattle woman told investigators that Lavely “took her to the poorly lit parking lot of the Burlington Coat Factory, in Edmonds,” according to charges. He forced the woman to engage in sex in the parking lot, charges said.

While Everett police say the woman was not handcuffed, the charges say that she was “detained, under arrest or in the custody of the defendant.”

Everett police were brought in to investigate the sexual misconduct allegation.

Cornell said in charges that he is seeking a sexual assault protection order between the Seattle woman and Lavely.

An Edmonds police officer was arrested by Everett police today on allegations that he had sex with a woman he had detained last month.

Officer Daniel Lavely, 46, a 7 ½-year veteran of the department, was booked into the Snohomish County Jail at 11 a.m. for investigation of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct., according to Edmonds and Everett police.

On the night of May 6, Lavely contacted a 28-year-old Seattle woman after she allegedly jaywalked on Highway 99 in Edmonds, said Everett police spokesman Officer Aaron Snell. Later that night, Lavely was dispatched to another 911 call regarding the same woman. During that call he placed the woman in the back of his patrol car and “drove her to a remote location where the two had sexual intercourse,” according to Everett police.

The woman was not handcuffed, Snell said.

Snell would not disclose the nature of the later 911 call. He only referred to it as “a call for service.”

The woman reported the incident to law enforcement several days later. On May 9, Everett police were brought in to investigate the sexual misconduct allegation, Snell said.

Lavely was placed on administrative leave after the allegation was made, Edmonds police said.

“A determination as to Lavely’s employment status with the city will be made pending an Edmonds Police Department review of the entire investigatory file,” Edmonds police Sgt. Mike Blackburn wrote in a news release.

The case has been forwarded to the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office today, Snell said.