A Utah school psychologist resigned from her job this week after she was charged with sharing confidential information about a then-10-year-old student with her husband, who has since been charged with raping the girl.
Phillip Brandon Stokes was arrested last August and faces 16 felony counts, including rape of a child and aggravated sexual abuse, according to KSTU.
When he was arrested, he told investigators that his wife, 39-year-old Natalie Stokes, had mentioned the girl who was “literally groping other children,” according to his arrest documents. She further pointed the girl out to him while they were walking in the neighborhood one day.
According to the arrest documents, Phillip Stokes befriended the 11-year-old girl on TikTok in March 2021, encouraging her to message him on a text app. Then he pushed her to send explicit photos of herself and to meet him in a park, where Stokes engaged in sexual activities with her.
Police launched an investigation into Natalie Stokes at the time her husband was arrested. The Davis School District said it put her on administrative leave and barred her from contacting students and staff at the time. Officials began a termination process when she was charged on Monday.
“In the process of those termination proceedings, Ms. Stokes tenured her resignation Wednesday evening,” the district said.
Natalie Stokes’ arrest documents say she’s been charged with one misdemeanor count of unauthorized collecting, sharing, or use of private student data.
The school district said that Stokes began working with the district in 2003 as a teacher assistant and served “short stints” as a psychologist in 2007 and 2009. She was hired as a part-time school psychologist in 2017, and in 2019, began working as a full-time psychologist at South Weber Elementary School.
Arrest documents say that Stokes was required to sign several documents about her responsibility to safeguard confidential student information.
“In these and other documents, Stokes acknowledged understanding her obligations as the confidentiality of student information pursuant to federal, state, and Davis County School district rules and regulations, especially and in particular the ‘Utah Student Data Protection Act,’” the documents say.
Phillip Stokes is being held without bond. He also faces child pornography charges in federal court, KSL said.
Natalie Stokes was given a summons to appear in court on the misdemeanor.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Shutterstock]
