Sex charges against Maui teacher dropped

Prosecutors in a Washington State county have dismissed charges against a Maui public school teacher accused of taking photos of a nude girl to spare her from having to testify in court.

The Hawaii Department of Education said Thomas K. Takeuchi, 62, a social studies and science teacher at Maui High School since 1994, will remain on paid leave until “an employment suitability review” has been completed. Takeuchi was placed on leave when he was arrested in May 2012.

In addition to teaching, Takeuchi is a football referee.

Whitman County prosecutors on Sept. 20 dismissed a charge against him of felony sexual exploitation of a minor.

A prosecutor’s spokeswoman said the case was closed because it didn’t want to put “the victim through a traumatizing trial.

Takeuchi was charged with taking photos of the girl, who was 4 at the time, between July and October 2011, when he was visiting his family.

The girl’s mother found the photos in the child’s camera in March 2012 and turned them over to police detectives in Pullman, Wash. The girl told an investigator that Takeuchi took the photos.

She also told the investigator that she knew the photos were inappropriate.