TAHOE CITY — A former North Tahoe High School band instructor faces the loss of his teaching credential following accusations of sexual misconduct by two former students.

Ann Mullen and Shawndra Seymour, both of whom graduated in 1984, allege Geoff Igarashi made inappropriate sexual advances toward them. Their complaints to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing coincided with Igarashi’s sudden resignation in August.

Seymour said she had a year-and-a-half long affair with Igarashi that began when she was 16 and a clarinet/saxophone player in the North Tahoe band. A student of Igarashi from the sixth through 12th grades, she alleged the two had sex when she stayed after school, in the back of his van and on band field trips. She said they continued to have sex until she was 21 or 22.

Mullen, who earned a doctorate in sociology from Yale and now works for the U.S. Department of Education, alleged Igarashi made “unwanted and aggressive sexual advances” on her when she was 19. She said they occurred at his house and at his sister’s house in Berkeley.

“He was very coercive psychologically, and once very coercive physically,” Mullen said.

She decided to go to police in 1992 after hearing rumors that it had happened to other girls as well.

“My fear all along is that what happened with me was widespread and this wasn’t just a limited thing,” Mullen told the Tahoe World.

Mullen said she told the Placer County Sheriff’s Office of an incident in which both she and Seymour were together at Igarashi’s house. Mullen said Igarashi told the two girls he wanted to make love to both of them right there.

When investigators contacted Seymour in 1992, however, she denied the incident ever happened and denied having a sexual relationship with Igarashi. The case stalled for lack of evidence, sheriff’s Sgt. Lori Ziegler said.

“I was thinking, ‘Who the heck does (Mullen) think she is?'” Seymour said of her denial. “I was the special one. I was the one he loved. Not only did I not tell them the truth, but I called (Igarashi) and gave him the heads up. I could not have been dumber.

“I thought he was in love with me and that I was a special case and all that garbage that young girls think. We were going to move to Idaho and get married and have kids,” she said.

Seymour has since married and changed her last name to Ashen. She said rumors that other girls were being victimized, and being the mother of two young daughters, finally motivated her to come forward. Despite the rumors, no additional reports of sexual misconduct involving Igarishi have been filed with the sheriff’s office.

The statute of limitations for the alleged crimes against Seymour and Mullen expired so they turned to the state credentialing committee. The February recommendation to revoke Igarashi’s credential followed an investigation and closed-door hearings, according to the commission’s general counsel, Mary Armstrong.

Igarashi has not filed an appeal. The Tahoe World’s phone calls to him last week were not returned.

Principal Wayne Fields said Igarashi told him he was resigning for health reasons and to take care of his late father’s estate. Fields said he did not learn of the most recent allegations until January, although there had been similar allegations against Igarashi in the past.

Also in January, while the investigation was under way, students, staff and alumni from North Tahoe held a tribute concert for Igarashi celebrating his 25 years at the high school. Under his tutelage the North Tahoe band became one of the most recognized in the state and traveled internationally. He won the prestigious 2001 California Music Educators Association Band Educator Award honoring excellence in instrumental education and performance.