KENNEWICK -- Shocking new details about the long-time Kennewick teacher accused of having sex with a student.

Police arrested William Pickerel on Friday for two counts of sexual misconduct with a male student.

Tuesday, Action News uncovered that the 72-year-old reportedly confessed to some of the disturbing crimes.

But school leaders have not addressed the issue formally to parents or students.

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"There's rumors. Some people still don't think he's in jail," Kennewick High School senior John Harmon said. "Some people believe it but think he's innocent."

"There's a lot of emotion ranging from this man is guilty to this man is innocent until guilty," Kennewick School District spokesperson Lorraine Cooper said. "It's a hard line for the school district to walk."

Bill Pickerel is a retired teacher who spent nearly 40 years with the Kennewick schools.

Court documents said Pickerel is the same man who "confessed to performing oral sex on a male victim" at the teacher's home in Kennewick.

The sex reportedly happened about three or four years ago when the accuser was between the age of 16 and 17.

"It absolutely is disturbing news and we knew it was going to be difficult for everybody to process," Cooper said.

Right away, the district went to work to help students and staff cope with the news.

They called in counselors from within the community and a psychologist.

"A lot of teachers told me they were crying cause no one would think Pickerel would do this," Harmon said.

School leaders have still not addressed the issue with a formal letter home to parents or students.

They said they wanted to get counselors in first.

"He's been teaching for 40 years and nothing's ever gone wrong," Harmon said. "Kind of confused. I just want to figure out what happened."

Students said Pickerel was known for taking kids on weekend trips to Seattle.

They claimed he drove his own car, paid for everything and even had parents sign permission slips.

"Everything goes through the parents, Harmon said. "If they're going to Seattle they need to know what could happen and what could not happen."

But it seems parents weren't aware and neither was the district.

Those trips were not sanctioned by the school.

In the 40 years Pickerel worked at the district, teachers said he didn't raise one red flag or receive a single complaint.

"His life's messed up now," Harmon said. It doesn't matter if he's convicted or not. When he gets out, no one's going to like him cause everyone's always going to wonder did he molest that kid? What's going on? It ruined his life."

The district staff said they are considering drafting a formal letter to parents.

As of Tuesday evening, Pickerel was still in the Benton County Jail.

Prosecutors have not pressed formal charges.

They expect to do so Wednesday.

Prosecutors expect there are more victims out there.

If there are other victims, the challenge is finding out if they were assaulted within the last few years.

The statute of limitations for the crime is three years.

The statute falls under RCW 9A.44.093.