Hillsboro, OR. — A former Banks High School teacher has been sentenced to more than six years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing two students, according to a press release issued by law enforcement.
Wymon Wayne Smith, 67, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to sex abuse in the first degree and sex abuse in the second degree in Washington County Circuit Court. Kathleen Proctor sentenced Smith to 75 months in prison. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Matt Wise.
Smith was employed as a teacher at Banks High School at the time of the offenses. According to investigators, Smith initiated an increasingly flirtatious and inappropriate relationship with a student that escalated into sexual abuse.
On Jan. 6, 2025, Smith was alone in a classroom with the victim when he instructed the student to close the door so he could give what he described as a “real hug,” authorities said. Smith then hugged the minor and touched the student inappropriately. During the incident, Smith admitted to the student that he “shouldn’t be doing this.”
The victim reported the conduct to a friend, who alerted an adult. Law enforcement and school officials were notified, and Smith was immediately placed on leave pending an investigation. He was later terminated from his position and permanently barred from entering the school campus.
Following the initial investigation, detectives identified a second victim, also a student at the school. Authorities determined Smith initiated another inappropriate relationship that progressed to explicit sexual text messages and forceful sexual contact over a period of time.
The Washington County District Attorney’s Office commended the victims for coming forward to report the abuse and thanked the Washington County Sheriff’s Office for its investigative work.
In addition to his prison sentence, Smith will serve ten years of post-prison supervision, must register as a sex offender, and will lose his teaching certification, officials said.
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