Faith Lutheran grad says teacher groomed her, forced sex acts

A Faith Lutheran High School graduate told authorities a now-former teacher at the school groomed her and later forced her to perform sexual acts on him.

The student said she was a senior at the private, religious school in Summerlin when she met David Pendley, 46, in 2018, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report released Wednesday. Pendley encouraged the girl to join him on the school’s trip to Mexico, which was typically for students in the eighth through 10th grades, she told police.

The girl said that after the trip, Pendley hugged her and whispered, “I love you,” according to the report.

Later in the school year, he asked the girl to watch his dog while he went on a cruise with his wife. The victim said that when she went over to meet the dog, Pendley forced her to perform sexual acts on him and performed sexual acts on her, the report said. He told the girl that he was not cheating on his wife if he did not rape her, she told police.

Pendley was arrested Monday on a warrant and booked on six charges of a school employee engaging in sexual conduct with a student older than 16, according to court records.

The girl told police that she had never kissed a boy at the time and that she could remember 10 times Pendley had forced her to perform sexual acts, including one occasion while he was coaching a track meet for the school.

“Faith Lutheran takes every allegation seriously, and we strive to provide a safe and supportive environment for our students,” the school wrote in the statement Tuesday. “We will continue to cooperate with this investigation and provide support to our former student.”

The girl told police she did not report the abuse until December 2021 because he discouraged her from getting him in trouble and promised to divorce his wife.

“If she told anyone, no one would believe her because everyone likes him,” the girl said Pendley told her.

The school declined to say when Pendley left the school, but the arrest report said Pendley was fired in April 2020 for drinking while at school.

Pendley’s LinkedIn account showed that he worked as a middle school theology teacher beginning in April 2015. He was still listed on the school’s coaching staff webpage as of Tuesday.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.