Former Irrigon and Hermiston teacher and coach Jake McElligott’s license has been revoked by the state’s Teacher Standards and Practices Commission after a length investigation and review.

McElligott’s license was revoked Jan. 26 due to an inappropriate sexual relationship with a former student from Irrigon High School back in 2013, whom he had also coached in softball. The former student said she had a sexual relationship with McElligott that began the day of her high school graduation. According to the TSPC report, the student was 18 years old at the time.

McElligott, who had been licensed since 2003 and teaching in Irrigon since 2004, coached softball and basketball at Irrigon High School, and led the teams to state titles in both sports. In July 2014 he was hired as a sixth grade teacher at Hermiston’s Armand Larive Middle School and began coaching the high school boys basketball team.

The commission, which determines discipline for educators in Oregon, received a report from the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office in early October 2014, informing them of an investigation due to allegations of inappropriate conduct between McElligott and the student. The criminal investigation was closed soon after but the commission continued to investigate professional malfeasance. It concluded that McElligott’s behavior constituted gross neglect of duty in violation of several Oregon laws, and subsequently revoked his teaching license.

The former student initially told a Morrow County detective she began a sexual relationship with McElligott a year after she graduated, but later admitted the affair began the morning of her 2013 high school graduation. The woman said she was not a minor at the time, and that she had initiated their first sexual encounter.

She said McElligott insisted she wait until she graduated before discussing her feelings for him. According to the woman, McElligott said he followed a code in which he never got involved with a student before they graduated. According to the police report, at the time of the interview McElligott was also involved with another former student, who was also over the age of 18. That former student did not respond to reported attempts by the police to contact her.

Further investigations by the TSPC revealed that McElligott and the student had exchanged personal phone calls and text messages during the 2012-2013 school year, and in spring 2013 the two met in the softball dugout before school because the student had to make up time from a practice she missed.

McElligott talked with the student about some personal conflicts she was facing. He told her he cared about her, and that he disapproved of her date to the prom and some of her lifestyle choices. Before leaving, McElligott gave the student a “full-on hug,” the report said, and told her again that he cared about her.

Several administrators in Morrow and Umatilla counties were also investigated for their response to the incident, but cleared of any wrong-doing.

McElligott was placed on leave by the Hermiston School District in August 2015 and let go from his high school coaching duties when the investigation by the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission came to light. He resigned his teaching position in December 2015.

Dr. Monica Beane, the executive director of the TSPC, said some cases take longer because of the availability of new witnesses in a case. She said if a case is also being investigated by a law enforcement agency, the TSPC’s investigation can be delayed so it doesn’t interfere with law enforcement.

“In this case, we had to wait for other factors,” Beane said. She added that McElligott initially requested a hearing, but the case was settled before the hearing.

Beane said Oregon is a member of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher and Education Certification Clearinghouse, a national educators’ system that is required to report individuals on whose records actions have been taken, so if someone whose license is revoked in Oregon applies for a license in another state, they will be investigated in that state as well.

Heidi Sipe, the Umatilla School District superintendent, also serves on the TSPC. While she recused herself from the McElligott case, Sipe said her district has very specific policies on grooming and sexual misconduct.

“In the handbook, it shows that state law requires all school districts to provide training on sexual misconduct, including grooming,” Sipe said. She added that employees also receive training about how to report behavior they think might constitute sexual misconduct, including making anonymous complaints.

Sipe said a key point in preventing this kind of incident is having staff recognize what grooming looks like, in order to raise alarm about it.

Dirk Dirksen, the superintendent of Morrow County School District, said the district does a lot of training and professional development around the definitions of grooming.

“We stay alert and ask people to report it,” he said. “We investigate. Every time we get a report we do an investigation and turn it in — but the process is slow.”