Teacher who had sex with teen could be out in 6 months

A former high school gym teacher could be released from custody in six months after admitting to having sex with a 16-year-old girl.

Darin J. DeBolt, 26, was sentenced to four to eight years in prison on Friday, but a Benewah County District Court judge retained jurisdiction over the case.

That means DeBolt will undergo treatment at the North Idaho Correctional Institute in Cottonwood, and the judge will consider in six months if he should be released or sent to prison.

DeBolt was arrested in February at the 130-student Lakeside High School in Plummer, where he had worked for five years.

The sexual abuse occurred in October, according to the Benewah County Sheriff’s Office. DeBolt was on the cheer squad at Eastern Washington University and was a cheerleading coach for a private organization in Spokane Valley.

Meghann M. Cuniff