PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In 2016, Eric Smedsrud, a former band teacher at Mountain view High School in Vancouver, was placed on administrative leave, suspected of crossing the line with a student.
Two years later, the state’s investigation into Smedsrud has ended. The 300-page report obtained by KOIN 6 News concludes Smedsrud, who can’t teach anymore, groomed the student, leading to a sexual relationship. It also said he lied. KOIN asked him to do an on-camera interview. “No. I’ve moved on. None of the publicity helps anybody. There’s no drama now, and I want to keep it that way,” said Smedsrud.
Ultimately, the state investigator wasn’t able to figure out if anything Smedsrud did was illegal.
Two years ago, KOIN 6 News, in person, attempted to talk to Smedsrud and his former student, the one he was dating. He was 41; she was 19. They declined to speak then.
A year before, Smedsrud was married and was the woman’s band teacher. The Evergreen School District was concerned their relationship started before she graduated.
The investigation revealed the two’s relationship came to light after Smedsrud would spend weekends in the teenager’s dorm room at Central Washington University during the fall of her freshman year. Her roomate’s parents became upset because their daughter would have to find somewhere else to stay.
But, according to court documents, “Smedsrud denied ever sleeping or staying in (her) dorm room..(and) Also denied providing (her) with any alcohol.”
The woman, who KOIN 6 isn’t identifying, took to Facebook in 2016 to defend her relationship with Smedsrud.
“Eric is a former teacher of mine. In October, I found myself needing someone and Eric found himself needing someone as well. From that point forward our relationship changed, and it is the best thing that has ever happened to me…Eric is 41, and I am 19. Many of you believe that he has taken advantage of me. Let me say how offended this makes me as a woman. No man will ever take advantage of me. End of story.”
But while she was in high school there were suspicions, according to the investigation, that their relationship had already begun. The documents say she attended a band field trip that she wasn’t supposed to, causing a fervor among students.
One said “the rumor started spreading that her intention was to … stay in the same motel room as Mr. Smedsrud,” but “Smedsrud explained the situation” to the band members, saying that he was a close friend of the girl’s family and that he had been helping her through some tough times.
An investigator also analyzed her phone and found 137 text messages and calls between the two during her senior year. The investigator told Smedsrud: “Your late night and sexually charged texts themselves … constitute an invasion of teacher-student boundaries.”
The investigation, however, stalled when the former student said “the first time she and Mr. Smedsrud had sex was in July,” after she had graduated and had already turned 18.
Smedsrud eventually ended the investigation by volunteering to surrender his teaching certificate. He wrote to the state that no one “ever identified any inappropriate conduct” through the investigation. He also revealed that he and his former student are still together. According to their Facebook pages, they are living in the Tri-Cities. He’s now 43; she’s 21.
“Over two years have gone by and I am in a committed, caring and loving relationship,” he wrote to the state.”
Below is a letter sent by Smedsrud to the state obtained by KOIN 6 News through a public records request.