An Evergreen High School teacher accused of taking an inappropriate photo of a student with his phone made a first appearance in Clark County Superior Court on Tuesday.
Matthew Morasch, 40, was arrested Monday on suspicion of two counts of voyeurism in connection with the June 15 incident. He allegedly took the photo in a classroom, two days before the end of the school year.
The school’s student resource officer took the initial report, but the case was forwarded to the Vancouver Police Department’s Digital Evidence Cybercrime Unit. Morasch was placed on paid administrative leave the same day of the incident and has not returned to the district since, the district’s spokeswoman Gail Spolar said.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for Morasch’s phone and found the image. Students who were in the classroom and witnessed the alleged incident were interviewed by police.
Detectives also discovered a second inappropriate image on his phone of an unknown female at a retail store with a time stamp from April, Vancouver police said.
Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Erin Culver said Tuesday that the female’s identity is still unknown. She said the photo appeared to be taken at the Battle Ground Goodwill store.
Morasch appeared Tuesday with a provisional attorney. He did not qualify for a court-appointed attorney and must hire his own, Judge Derek Vanderwood said.
Culver requested Morasch be held in custody in lieu of $40,000 bail, citing an “abuse of trust” with the student, who is a minor.
The defense argued that bail amount was too high and asked for supervised release. Morasch reportedly has no criminal history, has family in the area and has had a stable job for years. The science teacher was finishing his 10th year in the school district, Spolar said.
Culver said there are some concerns about Morasch’s release because he may interfere with the investigation. Some items of evidence were apparently removed before investigators could obtain them, she said.
Judge Vanderwood set bail at $5,000. He ordered Morasch to not have contact with the alleged victim.
He is scheduled to be arraigned July 7.
