Accused Cd'A teacher makes first court appearance

Bond was set Monday at $250,000 for a longtime Coeur d’Alene School District elementary teacher who is accused of lewd conduct with children.

Ronald D. Stone, 61, of Wallace, a fifth-grade teacher at Hayden Meadows Elementary, was arrested Friday around 4:30 p.m. and charged with two counts of lewd conduct with a minor and sexual abuse of a child under 16.

Stone appeared in court for his first appearance wearing the tear-away velcro jail clothes of inmates on suicide watch.

His attorney, Jim Siebe, wanted a lower bond amount, but First District Magistrate Judge James Stow said any requests to lower the bond should be made in district court.

Stone, who was hired by the school district in 1981, was arrested on a warrant following a March 27 grand jury indictment. The charges according to the indictment stem from alleged lascivious contact that occurred between May 26, 1999, and May 25, 2006. The three alleged victims were between 4 and 16 years old at the time.

In a weekend letter Coeur d’Alene Superintendent Steven Cook ensured parents and guardians of Hayden Meadows students that Stone is no longer in the classroom and that he would be on administrative leave until further notice.

“Based on the information provided by the sheriff’s office, the alleged victims do not include students in the Coeur d’Alene School District,” said Cook. “Our school district denounces any type of behavior by any of our staff members that places any child in harm’s way.”

Every teacher must undergo extensive background checks to earn a license, Cook wrote, including a criminal record check based on fingerprints compared to law enforcement databases.

Lewd conduct can carry a life prison sentence, depending on the egregiousness of the crime.

Stone was arrested Friday during spring break while driving south on U.S. 95, according to the jail report.