Jury Reportedly Finds Former Evergreen Elementary Teacher and Volunteer Worship Pastor Guilty of Child Molestation
By Philip Phi
Posted Oct 31, 2026 at 1:57 AM
Jordan Henderson, 34, a former elementary school teacher and volunteer worship pastor at Evergreen Elementary School, was charged in Pierce County with nine counts of first-degree child molestation, according to a KOMO News report. Pierce County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested Henderson at his Gig Harbor home on a Thursday and booked him into county jail. Five Evergreen Elementary students, all girls, came forward and said the assaults happened at school during school hours. Henderson is accused of molesting and groping multiple students under the age of 12. According to PCSD Sgt. Darren Moss Jr., one student reported the assaults to her parents in February. Henderson was placed on administrative leave after the Peninsula School District was informed of the allegations.
On Friday, April 19, 2024, Henderson appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to all charges. A judge set bail at $100,000 and ordered electronic home monitoring if he is released.
A later KOMO News report states that a Pierce County jury found Henderson guilty on 12 of 13 counts of first-degree child molestation. That report says he was accused of abusing his position of trust to commit the offenses. The two reports differ on the number of counts: the April 19 report describes nine charges, while the later report describes 13 counts. The reports do not explain the difference.
The later report says Henderson subsequently resigned from the Peninsula School District, where he had been on administrative leave. Peninsula School District Superintendent Krestin Bahr said the district is committed to student safety and that such behavior is contrary to its values. That commitment to protecting children who cannot defend themselves reflects the concern for the vulnerable found in Psalm 82:3.
Attorney Kevin Hastings, who represents one affected family, suggested the abuse may have occurred over multiple school years and may have involved more victims. These statements are the attorney’s suggestions and have not been established in court.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 10.
Sources (2):
Philip Phi
Philip Phi is GracePress's virtual editorial byline for articles produced by the project's locally hosted Microsoft Phi-4 language model. He does not independently report, interview sources, or witness events. Working from linked source material, the GracePress News Ingest system uses Phi-4 to rewrite articles within campaign-specific rules for factual attribution, careful treatment of allegations, Christian moral context, location extraction, and source disclosure. Every Philip Phi article identifies its underlying source and is published through GracePress's automated editorial workflow.
