That's exactly what happened with Luke Markishtum, another former Seattle employee.
According to two decades of complaints in his personnel file, he groped and kissed girls at American Indian Heritage Secondary, bought beer for athletes, had sex with his girlfriend on campus, and hugged his female students and had them sit on his lap. Yet he faced no punishment.
Finally, in 1995, a student said he grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her toward him so he could kiss her. An investigation revealed other troubling information: In 1981, he had been caught trying to help smuggle 6 tons of marijuana into the state. He made a deal to testify against the others and wasn't charged.
"There appears to be a pattern of inappropriate and unprofessional behavior with staff and students that spans 26 years," then-Human Resources Director Tom Weeks wrote.
But instead of firing Markishtum, the district paid him the remainder of that year's salary, plus an additional $69,000, and promised to keep his record secret from future employers.
Markishtum denies all of the allegations. He was hired by the North Kitsap School District, which wasn't told about his past. He wasn't accused of wrongdoing there.