Valley teacher wanted in Idaho

MAT-SU — A Mat-Su Borough School District substitute teacher was arrested Thursday over allegations he sexually abused a minor in Idaho.

Tyler Fishback, 18, was arrested at 2:30 p.m.

“The warrant was stemming from two charges of lewd conduct with a child under 16 year of age, felonies in the state of Idaho,” Alaska State Troopers say in a press release about the arrest. “Fishback is being held in Mat-Su Youth Facility on a $50,000 bail pending his extradition back to Idaho.”

AST spokeswoman Megan Peters said Fishback was jailed at the youth facility because he was 17 when the crimes allegedly happened. She said the facility can hold people who are as old as 19 if they committed crimes as minors.

Details of the case were not available Monday. Idaho seals records relating to underage defendants and those relating to sex crimes. The crime itself applies to a broad range of sexual contact and carries a potential penalty of up to life in prison. In terms of ages, it requires only that the victim be under the age of 16 when the conduct occurred.

The school district referred questions about the case to Trooper Lt. Rex Leath, who did not return a call seeking details of the case Monday.

Details were scant in Fisbhack’s Alaska court file as well. The warrant was issued Nov. 30 in Idaho and was through the Rexford County Police Department. Fishback has made one court appearance, on Friday, where his bail was kept at $50,000.

Mat-Su Borough School District spokeswoman Catherine Esary said that since his arrest, Fishback’s employment as a substitute has been terminated.

As far as the hiring process, she said the school district uses the same process for hiring substitute teachers as it does for hiring anyone else. The process includes a background check for crimes committed in the state and fingerprinting with the FBI.

“All of that is the same whether you’re going to work one day or 1,000 days in the district,” Esary said. “Obviously, a certified teacher has to have more extensive academic credentials.”

The school district’s website outlines qualifications for substitutes for a variety of positions. Substitute teachers don’t have to have a college degree or have a teaching certificate.

Substitute teaching candidates “are required to have a high school diploma and set up an interview with a principal of your choice,” according to the application for substitutes. “If you hold a current valid Alaska Teaching Certificate, you are entitled to the higher rate of pay.”

Long-term subs, though, need to have a certificate.

Fishback’s fugitive from justice charge — which is usually dismissed once a person is finally extradited — is the one and only criminal charge on Fisbback’s adult record in Alaska, who turned 18 in June.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.