Law&Crime Sidebar - Counselor CAUGHT in Bushes with Teen Girl!

Episode Date: August 7, 2026

When a mother tracked her missing 15-year-old daughter's cell phone to a remote gravel road in Shelton, Washington, police discovered high school counselor Samuel Caffey hiding in the woods with the teen. The encounter sparked an investigation that exposed a devastating pattern of grooming, abuse, and boundary violations. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down the disturbing new footage that brought down this counselor.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code SIDEBAR at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/sidebar HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson, Heather Berzak & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is there any reason that a school counselor is meeting with a 15-year-old girl outside of school up in the middle of the woods? That one question exposed a predator who in this story was literally hiding in plain sight. A counselor who used his position to groom a student just had his whole world come crashing down. And we have it all from the moment he's caught to the moment it all unravels, all captured on body cam. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by law and crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Now, I've got to say something real quick. You know how we cover the dangers of this world all the time?

I mean, look at the stories that we cover here on Sidebar. But did you know that your data is exposed everywhere? Your personal data is all stored across online directories, people search sites, commercial databases. So that means things like your address, your phone number, your social security number, it's out there. Incogni, though, can help track down that information and demand it be taken down. With their custom removal feature, your dedicated privacy expert, handle removing your data automatically from hundreds of data brokers and from any links that you send in. You know, look, I was shocked to find out that my information was on all these databases,

but thankfully, within days, Incogni was taking them down. They can't harm you if they can't find you. Use code sidebar at the link below, gets 60% off an annual plan that is incogni.com slash sidebar. This story takes us to Shelton, Washington. It is April of 2023 on what should have been a normal spring break afternoon. According to the Mason County Sheriff, a 15-year-old girl went for a jog, and she didn't come back. So her mom tracked her phone to a remote gravel road

where she found a motorcycle, a cell phone, and a man hiding in the woods. So going, you got ID on you? But get this, this wasn't a stranger. She knew him because you know who he was? Is there any reason that a school counselor is meeting with a 15-year-old girl outside a school? school up in the middle of the woods? Yeah, you heard that right. Her daughter's high school counselor,

29-year-old Samuel Caffee. Now, we're going to learn more about him in a minute, but it started as a welfare check, but this ended up with police uncovering an absolutely horrifying pattern of grooming, manipulation, and abuse that spanned months. And you know what's even worse? There are allegations that the school knew about what was going on. He was supposed to to be protecting his students, and they allegedly knew he wasn't. So I want to take you into this, show you exactly what happened to this counselor turned criminal. Here's how it all went down. So this encounter happened back on April 5, 2023 in Shelton. It's a small town. It's about 60 miles southwest of Seattle. The population's around 10,000. The Mason County Sheriff's Office receives a call for a

welfare check at around 3 p.m. Again, a 15-year-old girl is apparently threatening to hurt herself. When officers arrive, it is a scene that just doesn't add up. There's a motorcycle parked on the road. The girl is there. And then this man appears out of the woods, literally, 29-year-old Samuel Caffee. He was this guidance counselor at Shelton High School. And what police are about to hear is going to immediately set off alarm bells. So going, you got ID on you?

Is there any reason that a school counselor is meeting with a 15-year-old girl outside of school up in the middle of the woods? I have reason. Yeah. Okay. It's not what they suspect it to be. Okay. Well, here's the deal. I've been doing this job for seven years.

Sure. And you hiding in the woods tells me otherwise. Sure. So you don't? You really don't think that it's unprofessional that you're up here in the woods with a 15-year-old girl? I would say that I cross the line professionally. I would say it's not what I think you're insinuating it to me. Okay.

Okay. Same tight, okay? So police already have a bad feeling about this guy, but they need to piece together what actually happened, right? So that is when the girl's mom starts filling in the blanks. And police learn more critical details about Mr. Caffey. He just told me, I went and got his ID. The parents informed me that this is her school counselor

that had been hiding in the woods when they got here. and they advised that that's her school counselor. They've been thinking something was kind of weird between the interactions between him and their daughter. He finally came out. They said he finally came out of the woods after they were up here for quite a while. He came walking back out to his street bike here. She's in tiny little shorts and a sweatshirt. It is all that she's got on.

Correct. So just give you guys an idea what's going on. I contacted the detective's sergeant. He's going to send two detectives up here because of the situation, him being a school counselor, your daughter being up here with him. So two detectives on their way up. So your daughter's just hanging out in the back of the car. Yeah, I'm going to kind of keep an eye on her.

I don't believe there's anything she has that she can, like, hurt her soft with, but she said it multiple times that if we didn't leave her alone that she will kill herself over the situation because she didn't want to find out who she was in the woods with and we said,

hey, if he's an 18-year-old boy and we'll be gladly give him a piece to his car back and we'll leave. When you got here, where did where did they go? When I pulled it, and I said, well, whose bike is us?

And she said, oh, I don't know. But then she went to her phone off of it and I said, well, you know whose bike it is like whose house who's property is what do you do and who you with they wouldn't show themselves they were hiding in the woods and we went looking around we couldn't find she said she was going on a run i don't know if she hopped on that bike and came up here if he picked her up and brought her up here or if she actually ran her little butt up here and met him up here i don't know so all i know is that i told her she needed to be get home soon because she's

supposed to go to counseling and supposed to go to her dad's house. And then she wasn't picking up her phone. And then I looked at the find your phone thing. And I noticed her phone's up here. And I'm like, why is she up here? This isn't a safe space for her 15 years old, little short shorts out running, you know. So I'm like, okay, I'm going to book it up there. And then I find her right here walking towards me and the bike when I pull in. And I, like, drive back there and I don't see anybody. I'm like, who you with? Some guy named Ray, she says. I met him on Snapchat or something. He's 18. 18. Well, what school is he going to do? Where? Not that that makes it. So then I'm like, well, now I'm even really concerned because that's not a good

mood. That's not safe. If he goes to school, what school? You know, you don't know what school? And so she's just like, you know, just leave it alone. If you don't leave it alone, I'm going to kill myself. You don't think I'll do it. I don't do it. You know, and she's, you know, talking about this so we were on the phone with her dad and we were just like hey you know we told her he's 18 you can come out and introduce himself no big deal we'll give him his keys we'll go home you know if not you know we're calling we want an ambulance and a sheriff out here because this situation just doesn't look right something's not right because I'm like no high school kids you're going to go hide in the woods for like an hour and not come out and talk to parents

and then your kids aren't going to tell you that their your kids I'm going to repeatedly tell you over and over and over again that they're going to hurt and kill themselves over the situation. You know, it's just not so like me and her dad, we had him on the phone the whole time. We all talked about it and, you know, that's it. We're calling. We're getting to get some help for her and figure out what's going on and figure out who's vicious is, but he didn't come out of the woods until I was already on the phone with that. So now the police have gotten a better picture from the mom, and they've already called for detectives.

but Kathy is not just standing there quietly. You're not going nowhere. Sure, sure. There's two detectives on their way up here. They're going to be coming out to talk to you. So just hang tight over next to your bike. They're going to be here soon. And the detective sergeant is calling out,

contacting the school to find out as to why you're up here with a 15-year-old girl hiding in the woods. So you can go ahead and wait over next to your bike. Um, one last question, if I may. What crime am I being suspected of? Crime? Yeah. Okay, well, right now would be a potential sex offense. And what evidence to put me other than just the circumstances? So, so, okay, let me,

before you try to try the YouTube blowered up, let me inform you right now, based on reasonable suspicion. Sure. Which is Terry V. Ohio. I can reasonably detain you for the time. being for an investigation. You were up here. You're 29 years old. You were a school counselor. You were up here with a 15 year old girl that is wearing very short shorts. She was hiding from her parents. She came walking out most likely from the back of the bushes wherever you guys were. Her phone was sitting on your bike. You were hiding in the woods for almost an hour. So based on that information at this time, I am telling you you are not free to go.

Yes. Okay. Wait next to your bike. Thank you. Hey Jeff, yeah, there's something weird about this guy. He's giving me the, he's weird. He's smirking when he's asking if he's free to go, I'm informing him, no. He's asking why not? And he's sitting there smirking. There's something weird about this guy.

Okay, got to be that. Do you have your cell phone on you? Yep. It's your cell phone. Based on exigent circumstances and the fact that you can. be destroying evidence of a sexual crime, taking your phone for the time being. Do you agree with that? Yes.

That phone is going to reveal some very important details here, and we're going to revisit that. But detectives end up putting Kathy in the back of a patrol car. They read him his rights. He agrees to talk. And at this point, he's detained. Right away, he seems to start painting himself as the good guy, the counselor who cares too much, the one who goes above and beyond for his students. but just how deep did that investment really go?

Detectives are about to find out. What do you do for work? I'm a high school counselor. Where at? Shelton High School. Okay. How long have you been there? Seven years.

Really? Wow. Where'd you go to school? I did my undergrad at Evergreen and then my master's at University of Puget City. Okay. So what is your degree? Education with an endorsement in school counseling. Okay.

And have you been working at Shelton, high school for seven years yes okay so what is your explain to me what your duties are there yeah my role is to be specifically my caseload is all freshman students to help support them academically social emotionally and then post high school so like secondary career in college readiness okay all right um what are your normal work hours uh by contract my work hours are seven hours are seven and 15 to 245. Do I ever... Where do your realistic work hours?

They sometimes, through COVID, we're 24-7. Through this last year has been when I'm needed. Okay. Yeah. All right. So you said you're responsible for only freshmen? Correct. So how many counselors are there for the freshman class?

Just me. Just you? For 400 and so I think we're a little over 400. How in the hell do you find the time? to dedicate to each and every one of those kids. I don't get to. So I usually pick a handful of kids that I really deeply invest in. And then I have some students that I see kind of on a couple week basis.

And then there's some students I don't meet at all. And my hope is that they don't need me. Okay. So now will you follow this class through their high school career? So will next year you'll be responsible for the sophomore class? No. I get a brand new group. You get a brand new group every year.

So you've been doing this for seven years. As the freshman guy, last year was my first year, this is my second for dedicated freshman. The investigator asks Kathy about his relationship with his supervisors. And Kathy admits there's been some tension, and then they get to how we ended up connecting with this teen girl. So what brings you then to where we're at here? Yeah.

One of my students that I've gotten to know really well, who's in my DBT, dialectical and behavioral. therapy group who's somebody who comes and checks in with me pretty regularly. And so she recently had some kind of abnormal home situations. And so we've been staying in better contract electronically about what's going on. So tell me about that. When you say abnormal home situation, what was that mean? So not last week, but the week prior.

she got in an altercation at home where she got in a fight with her mom and then the boyfriend stepped in. He pressed the issue, which is very abnormal for him and his role in their relationship. Typically, the conflict stays between daughter and mother. But he inserted himself, which only got Sage more escalated. she ended up, in her words, punching a tree and showing me pictures of how bruise up her fists were, her right fist was. And then she sent me a picture of her bruised forehead from her and her mom both said that she had smashed her head into the wall repeatedly because she stated that they were not listening to her. And after all of that happened, Jesse, the boyfriend, stated that he, It was his home and that he did not want her there anymore.

How often then do you see in your job as a counselor? We'll come by my office a couple times a week. Okay. And do you have dedicated time with her where you're providing counseling services? I have my group-based counseling that I do with her, and it was three students first trimester. It's six students this trimester. And then I do one-on-one conversations counseling.

We have to be careful around what we call my work as a school counselor. That is not therapeutic counseling. It cannot be classified as therapeutic counseling because it's beyond my scope. Okay. So do you have any education and training in therapeutic counseling? Yes. Okay. Tell me about that.

My master's program at the University of Puget Sound was specifically in counseling theory. Okay. But then with an internship that happened in the schools, an additional coursework to get an endorsement in school counseling. So your work then as a school counselor, you are not, do you qualify in your role with your background, your training and certifications? Do you qualify as, oh, the word is escaping me right now? Not a registered or licensed counselor in the state of Washington. Okay. No. And you're not conversations then between you and students.

Are confidential unless I'm concerned around, like I get to maintain a level of confidentiality unless I'm concerned about the safety of the students. So that's active, present concerns around their suicide. side ideation that I believe that, you know, is unsafe if they were to leave my office, so I contact home around their possible harm to others or any concerns that would require me to call the police or CPS in regards to, like, neglect child abuse. So there is confidential. Correct. I have the right to that, yes.

Okay. Yeah. So Kathy just admitted he's not a licensed therapist. He's a school counselor. And he's been meeting with this girl one-on-one multiple times a week and commuting. communicating with her on Snapchat, all while knowing the school had a policy against it. But here's the part that he didn't see coming. The detective is about to confront him with the truth. Guess what?

This is in counseling. This is something else entirely. So how is what you were doing here today, supporting? How is this good for her mental health? This did not end up in a place that was good for her mental health. So what was your intent when you came up here to meet with him? And sneak her away from her house, take her away, because you knew her parents didn't want you there. How was that how did you intend for that to be good for her mental health?

I thought having a familiar, comfortable face that she trusted to tell her that it was going to be okay was helpful. Okay. Because I'm going to tell you exactly what this looks like and exactly what it smells like and I think exactly what it is. Okay. This is grooming behavior. Okay. And as a counselor, I know damn good while you know exactly what that is. Okay.

Here's what is happening right now. and her parents are accompanying one of the other detectives back to the office. She is going to take part in what's called a forensic interview. I'm sure you're familiar with what forensic interviews are. And during that process, she, if she's willing and to do so, will disclose the full extent of the relationship between you and her. This is your opportunity, Sam, to, get out in front of things right now and tell your story in your words.

Don't let a 16 or a 15 year old girl tell your story. Yeah. Okay. You, I'm going to be honest with you, you f***ed up. Okay, you know that. Yeah.

You crossed about every ethical boundary that exists. Professionally. Absolutely. You've violated numerous school. policies. You violated numerous of the canons of ethics for counselors and counseling. You really overstepped your balance. And I'm going to be honest as I've been from the moment we sat down and I'm going to tell you, I don't think it's for altruistic reasons. Okay. I think that your relationship with this student in particular has crossed over from being a counselor

student relationship to a relationship between a man and a woman. Okay. Um, and if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but I'm just, I'm telling you from where I'm at. Here's something else that's going to happen. Okay. She's going to turn over her phone. We're going to do a forensic download of that phone. And here's the beauty of forensic downloads.

Snap, Insta, all these things where you can go in and you can delete stuff, you know it's never truly deleted. Right. Okay. Metadata is always there. We're going to recover the messages from the two of you. She may still have them on her Snap. Hell, we're going to serve a search warrant on Snap to get that stuff. Beautiful thing about Snap is they tell people all the time.

Once it's gone, it's gone. It's never gone. Okay. It's always on a server somewhere. And we're going to retrieve all that. what am I going to find and what's the smoking gun going to be where are we going to find out where did you actually when's the first time you crossed the line with her when is the first time that this went from being this is not a counselor situation this is a relationship situation how long ago did that happen i think at this point i would like a lawyer in order to floor there have this conversation so after that conversation kathy's actually released because police don't have enough to hold them yet but they're far from done in their investigation Remember, I showed you the police collecting Kathy's phone earlier.

Well, when they start digging into that phone, they find all that they need. The pass code to get into the phone, according to police, what are you doing, kiddo? And according to the police report on the victim's cell phone, she had Kathy saved in her phone as, my love with a red heart emoji. So then they open her Snapchat and they find a treasure trove of evidence. messages between the two that have been saved to the app. There is one from Caffy. That reads, this is according to the report.

I just got a way to do therapy at two, so I re-downloaded it to see. And one from her that reads, I'll always love and support you. I'll never abandon you. I will never leave you, Sam. I will always be right by your side through everything. A 15-year-old girl, writing that to her school counselor. And when police got warrants for the Snapchat search,

they apparently found even more, including a video that Kathy allegedly recorded of himself driving in his car saying, per the report, I love you, I think about you all the time. There's something else in those messages. Police found out this relationship didn't just start in April. It apparently started months earlier in February, right around Valentine's Day. On February 14th, Kathy apparently gave her two marijuana vape cartridges as a gift. And if you thought that was it, there's more. Someone calls the police to talk.

And it's none other than Kathy's ex-wife. What she tells them changes everything. Because it turns out she was a student at Shelton High when Kathy was a counselor there. She says that after they started dating as adults, he told her he remembered her from school, as well as the looks reportedly she gave him. She also tells police about something she found, something that confirmed her worst fears. He was letting me into his new Hulu account, though. And he said he had no fusionate.

Was this? Our new password. Yes. This was before you guys got me. What was it? I had the word giving it. Getting? I'm glad that came up.

Oh, so this was before? Before him? You got him. That's interesting because he had given... I just got this information, so it was an email. court, but he had given her his guru login and peop login and the password was love for siege. Yeah, but that was in like February. That was my password. Sorry. I'm sorry. No, no, it's good. I need to know this. I need to know after the Cidia. Yeah, absolutely. I need to know.

Yeah, because I remember he was saying that at some point because I wrote it down that that was possible his password and then yeah, I found out that that was his, he gave. He gave him. He that to her so she could log into Hulu and Peacock and watch some shows and that was his password. And I was like, oh, I don't know, maybe he changed it like back. And then she mentioned something else. There have been concerns about Kathy ever since he started counseling. And he said that he had been concerned about Sam for a while. And it said that his first year of working in education.

I don't know where he was, but he had told Jake that he had liked the female attention that from the students. And that was his, like, first red flag investment, Jake started distancing himself from Sam. And then Jake also told me that Sam had told him that he was telling the student that he loved her. I was always asking him to drop better boundaries and felt like I had thought the whole time because that comment about, like, you know, I looked at him. I was just like, he has to like the attention. gets me nothing else. I was just like, I remember a couple weeks before you guys caught him.

I was asking because that was the name I heard all the time being like, you liked this attention. Or like, asked him if he didn't. He was just like, no, I don't. But I was just like, but like as a high school counselor with how intelligent you are, you can like, you know when students are in there because they just want attention from you. And you can't say no. Like, unless they have an immune. that you can help with, like you can turn them away.

You're not going to lose your job by telling a student to go to classes and talking to you. His dad knew as well. You know what? Samma told me that before they went somewhere, he said that things were getting great between a student. And he'd gone to his dad for advice. But his dad was just like, you need to knock that job. Like, you need to stop. And that was the end of that conversation.

On June 2nd, 2023, police obtained a warrant and arrested Kathy at his home. I'm going to interlace your fingers and turn around palms to the ground. Okay. Thank you very much. My grandmother's on her way to come get me. Can I tell her to turn around? Yeah, we'll let you use your phone here in just a minute, okay? I appreciate it.

I'll just get these cups on. Sure. Check for fit. A little bit tight on you. Okay, you can unenlace your fingers. Thank you. He's been a little bit better. So these are your Miranda warnings.

You have the rights for being silent. Anything you say can be used against you to report of law. You have the right at this time to talk to a lawyer and half in the present with you while you're being questioned. You can not afford to hire a lawyer. One will be appointed to represent you people questioning if you're right. You decide at any time to exercise your rights and not answer any questions or make any statements. Do you. Do you.

I like an explanation of your charges? Okay. So you're under arrest. You have a phone that you want to call your grandma on? Yes. Where is she at? She's on her wit. We were gonna go, I've been working on a car

that's parked at her house. So she was gonna come pick me up so I could take it back. Okay. And I take her. So, just head back home. Yeah, go back now. I know, I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry, yeah. I'm really sorry. My friend, you know. Sure. Yeah, we can do that. Sam, do you have a key to the house here? Yes. Because we have a search warrant for the residence, and we don't want to have to force the door open. So if you can show me which one of the keys it is that will open it, I'm assuming probably this one.

Let's go in this case here. It's not my home? I know. Right. But we have a warrant for the house, regardless. So you need the other keys in your other pocket? No, I'm saying the... The AirPod case is that's what's in his pocket.

Let me go verify these are the keys for the door. Sheriff's office, anybody home? Before he's taken to jail, an investigator has some parting words for him. Hey, Sam, so I'm not going to ask you any questions, okay? I just want to say something real quick if that's okay with you. So listen, I know people make mistakes, right? Okay, I'm not, this is not equally a conviction right now, which is probable cause, okay? I know people make mistakes.

That being said, it's not the end of life, right? Okay. So if you could please do me a big favor and do everyone a big favor and take care of yourself and not do anything kind of silly and rash or hurt yourself in any way, okay? Because that's going to put a lot of pain on other people and we don't need that. Okay? This is something that is not the end of life, right? Okay. I just want to make that really clear and nobody wants that. Thank you. Okay? All right. Thank you. So 29-year-old Samuel Caffee was charged with rape of a child in the third degree,

child molestation in the third degree, and distribution of a controlled substance to a person under 18. According to court records, he pleaded guilty to rape of a child in the third degree, and on February 27, 2024, he was sentenced to 41 months in prison, 19 months of community custody, and sex offender registration. An additional filing reveals that he was stripped of his teaching certificate in November of 2024. Last year, a woman actually filed a lawsuit against the school district on behalf of her

minor daughter alleging that the district allowed Kathy to groom an abuser. That lawsuit was settled earlier this year. And according to a report from the Shelton Mason County Journal of the district had agreed to pay the teen $350,000. What a story. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify.

wherever you should get your podcast. You can also check us out on NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to follow me, ex-instagram, My News Nation show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. See you next time, everybody.