BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A former Bellingham School District employee is charged for allegedly asking to see a student naked.

The district hired 23-year-old Darious Nathan Powell as a substitute paraeducator at Options High School in March of 2022.

Powell started the current school year as a Campus monitor at Kulshan Middle School.

A Bellingham Schools spokesperson says the district received a report on November 17th that he had sexually harassed the 16-year-old and reported the allegation to police.

The district says they informed state protective agencies the next day, filed a Title IX report on behalf of the student and offered them support.

The district fired Powell on November 28th.

He was also found to have failed to disclose an earlier conviction for malicious mischief when he applied for a job with the school district.

Bellingham Police tell the Bellingham Herald that Powell’s actions were not found to have risen to the level of a felony and he was charged with immoral communications with a minor in January.

The charge is a gross misdemeanor.

He has a hearing in Bellingham Municipal Court in April.