Teacher charged with 21 years for molesting kindergarten students

Thirty-year-old Tadashi Mitchell Harvey was sentenced to 21 years in prison and a lifetime of supervision, for molesting two six-year-olds in the Gila River Community on Tuesday, according to the Department of Justice.

Harvey had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of abusive sexual contact of a minor and when released from prison, Harvey will be required to register as a sex offender.

The crimes came to light earlier this year when a kindergarten student disclosed the molestation and investigations ultimately identified a total of six alleged victims, all of whom were current or former students of Harvey.

The DOJ said Harvey admitted to sexually touching two minor victims, both of whom were members of the Gila River Indian Community.

At the time, Harvey was an enrolled member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe.

“Our society places immense trust in teachers, and yesterday’s 21-year sentence appropriately punishes Harvey’s breach of that trust,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Strange. “Protecting school children from predators is one of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s most important responsibilities, and we will continue to prosecute such crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”

The Gila River Police Department investigated this case.