Coos Bay Teacher's Predatory Affair: Grooming, Abuse, and a Swift Fall from Grace
Jeremy Scott Burgher, a 45-year-old math instructor at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon
In the coastal town of Coos Bay, Oregon, what began as a seemingly innocuous teacher-student dynamic spiraled into a harrowing case of exploitation, sexual abuse, and digital deception. Jeremy Scott Burgher, a 45-year-old math instructor at Marshfield High School, preyed on a 17-year-old student, leveraging his position of authority to initiate a months-long illicit relationship marked by explicit communications and repeated sexual encounters, all while married to his wife, a union that remains intact to this day, adding a layer of personal betrayal to the professional misconduct. Drawing from court documents, forensic interviews, and investigative affidavits obtained through public records, this exposé unravels the calculated grooming tactics, the damning evidence trail, and the legal reckoning that culminated in Burgher's guilty plea.
The Grooming Phase: From Classroom to Secret Chats
Jeremy Burgher's entanglement with the student started innocently during her junior year in the 2022-2023 school term. As her math teacher, he exchanged personal cell phone numbers and Instagram handles under the guise of academic support. But the interactions quickly turned inappropriate. By May 2023, when the student was still 17, the pair began swapping explicit messages, nude photos, and videos—acts that would later form the basis for multiple "Luring a Minor" charges (ORS 167.057).
Affidavits depict how Burgher detailed his desire of sexual conduct via text, aiming to induce the student into physical acts. For instance, on May 21 and May 29, 2023, he sent detailed descriptions designed to arouse and entice. Digital forensics from the student's phone revealed over 4,000 text messages between them, the majority over a 2-week period in May 2023. Many of the texts were deleted but recoverable, discussing clandestine meetings and "being safe" to avoid detection. Burgher's phone data corroborated this, showing he labeled the student as "Frog" in his contacts and had deleted thousands of messages around February 6-7, 2024, just hours before her disclosure.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF SEXUAL CRIMES
According to Detective Kenneth Labrousse's probable cause affidavit, the student disclosed during a forensic interview that the exchanges included "inappropriate messages, images, videos, etc." When pressed for clarification, she stated, "I mean explicit, like nude photos, videos." The photos and videos were of each other individually, and forensics uncovered 49 videos of Burgher masturbating—seven dated when the student was 17, one in which he called out her nickname while performing the act—fueling charges of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse (ORS 163.684 and 163.686).
Instagram played a pivotal role too. Records from Meta showed deleted conversations on their main accounts, but a secret account contained incriminating exchanges. In one text from May 29, 2023, Burgher informed the student,
"This weekend, I got a rental at this Airbnb type place right across the street, so my friends would have somewhere to stay. They won't be down until later. So there's a period of time in which I'll have access to the unit, before they arrive. Just putting that out there, and you can decide how you feel about that."
This aligned with the student's account of one of their encounters at the Heritage House Airbnb on 5th Street in Coos Bay from June 2-4, 2023.
This phase exemplifies classic grooming: Burgher, 21 years her senior and in a position of trust, blurred boundaries with flattery and secrecy, exploiting the power imbalance inherent in teacher-student relationships.
The Escalation: Sexual Encounters and Exploitation
The abuse turned physical in June 2023. On June 10—Marshfield High's graduation night—Burgher met the student at the Global Inn in Coos Bay, where they engaged in vaginal intercourse. The student, still 17, described this as her first sexual experience, recounting in her forensic interview:
"On graduation night, June 10th (2023), she parked at the high school and walked to the Global Inn, where she met with Burgher. They had vaginal intercourse that night and again the following morning, then she walked back to her vehicle at the high school. Burgher did not use a condom and she was concerned about pregnancy, but she was too scared to get a Plan B pill herself, so Burgher got one for her and met her up at the high school to give it to her."
Over the summer, encounters multiplied. The student detailed these in her statement:
"She and Burgher met up again at least 3 or 4 more times after the Global Inn to have sex before she turned 18. They had met up at the nature trails next to Bay Area Hospital, at a place near the Coast Guard station at Bastendorff Beach, at a location they called 'Point Innocence' and one time at an AirBnB type of place across the street from Burgher’s house (The Heritage House)."
Court documents outline specific acts: Burgher touched the student's vaginal area (counts 4 and 6 under Sexual Abuse II, ORS 163.425); performed oral sex; and engaged in intercourse multiple times (counts 5, 7-9, 11, 14). Many occurred while she was underage and legally incapable of consent due to her age and his role as her teacher. Burgher also sent explicit videos of himself masturbating.
The relationship persisted after the student turned 18, but eventually darkened. On February 4, 2024, at Burgher's home just blocks away from Marshfield High School, he allegedly forced non-consensual intercourse. As detailed in Labrousse's affidavit of what the victim described to him,
"Burgher then stripped her clothes off and had vaginal sex with her from behind, as she was face-down on the bed; he did reach underneath her and grabbed her chest area, and also slapped her butt, sides, and shoulders, but his hand was on the back of her head or neck the majority of the time during the assault."
The student reported being "unresponsive the entire time but that did not stop him or slow him down," and that she believed she "blacked out at some point." She described physical pain, including "slight vaginal tearing from the friction," rating the pain during the act as "a solid 8," afterward as a "5 or 6," and at the time of the interview as a "2." She also noted emotional trauma, stating her "brain was completely silent, but she felt it in her chest and she was really sad."
Burgher's attempts at cover-up emerged in late messages: He suggested fabricating stories about her weekend stay and deleted evidence, leading to a Tampering with a Witness charge (ORS 162.285). His actions as a public servant also violated Official Misconduct laws (ORS 162.415).
The Investigation: Digital Trails and Swift Action
The student disclosed the abuse on February 7, 2024, to two teachers, triggering an immediate report to School Resource Officer Robert Scoville. Detective Kenneth Labrousse of the Coos Bay Police Department led the probe, conducting a forensic interview at the Kids' HOPE Center the next day.
Search warrants targeted phone records (AT&T, Charter/Spectrum, Verizon), iCloud data, Instagram logs, and Burgher's DNA. Forensics uncovered deleted texts, photos (38 nude images of Burgher, 12 from when the student was 17), and videos (49 of Burgher masturbating). iCloud preservation revealed hidden files, including child sexual abuse material duplicated by Burgher on October 5, 2023.
“When asked if they spent much time together in public or had ever run into people while in public, [the victim] said it was restricted, obviously, and that's why they went to the trails or other places in nature. She said that there was one big rumor that started going around last spring when they were at Mingus Park together, which was the time frame when things actually did start to get a little bit weird for them; a kid on the swim team saw them and ran with it, it did get to the principal and the principal talked to Burgher about it, but nothing came of it.”
Burgher was arrested February 14, 2024, initially on five counts of Sexual Abuse II, one Luring a Minor, and Official Misconduct. A grand jury indicted him December 17, 2024, on 17 counts spanning May 2023 to February 2024. He was arraigned on December 23, 2024, with bail set at $50,000.
The Outcome: Guilty Plea and Sentencing
Facing overwhelming evidence, Burgher pleaded guilty on November 3, 2025, to one count of Luring a Minor, five counts of Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree, and Tampering with a Witness. He was sentenced to 45 months in prison for each of the most egregious counts (2 of which were set to run consecutively for a total of 90 months in prison). Marshfield High terminated him immediately upon arrest.
This case underscores systemic vulnerabilities in schools: How did a teacher maintain such secrecy? Why weren't red flags—like unusual student-teacher communications—flagged earlier?
As the investigation reveals, Burgher's deletions and deception point to premeditated deviancy, but the real story lies in the student's courage to speak out, exposing a predator hiding in plain sight. In Coos Bay, the wounds may scar over, but the echo remains: Protect the vulnerable, or watch the predators thrive.