Families allege school district failed to protect minors from coach they accuse of abuse
Four student athletes and their families allege the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District failed to protect them from a former high school coach they accuse of grooming and sexually abusing minors.
Tort claims, filed Monday by the law firm Cochran Douglas, PLLC as a precursor to a lawsuit, allege that a former Sumner High School varsity basketball coach used his position to groom students for “sexual abuse and inappropriate sexualized behavior.”
The tort claims allege a pattern in which Jacob “Jake” Jackson would gift students money, basketball gear and clothing to manipulate them. The claims also allege that he used his position to get what he wanted by “threatening to hinder” a student’s goals.
Jackson coached at Sumner High from 2016-22. The school district placed him on administrative leave Aug. 31, then announced the start of an investigation. Jackson resigned in the fall. He has not been arrested or charged with a crime as of April 5.
The families affected “will require a lifetime of counseling and therapy,” the tort claims allege. Similar cases in Washington state resulted in jury verdicts between $4-10 million, the tort claims say.
A tort claim must be filed before pursuing a lawsuit against a state employee or agency. Attorney Loren Cochran of the Cochran Douglas law firm said they must wait 60 days after filing the claims before a lawsuit can be filed against the school district.
The Sumner-Bonney Lake School District did not immediately respond to The News Tribune’s request for comment.
Brett Purtzer from the Hester Law Group, who is representing Jackson, declined to comment at this time. He and Cochran said the police are still investigating.
The News Tribune reported in March 2023 and October 2022 about two lawsuits two different families filed against Jackson that accused him of sexually abusing and harassing minors. The school district wasn’t a defendant in those lawsuits. Those two families and two others are the ones who filed tort claims against the school district this week.
Lawsuit alleges former Sumner basketball coach sexually abused and harassed minor
Lawsuit accuses former Sumner basketball coach of sexual abuse and harassment of minor
The alleged abuse occurred as early as 2017. The student athletes and their families knew Jackson through Sumner High’s varsity basketball team.
Cochran argues a record from 2018 shows the school district was aware of concerns about Jackson’s communication with student athletes.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association also received a letter in 2020, Cochran said, that accused Jackson of communicating with student athletes and children as young as sixth grade through texts, phone calls, DMs and Snapchat. Cochran said it’s not clear who sent that letter, but that he hopes to find out through the litigation process.
“If the district had acted in 2018, then all of these four boys would have been protected from what Jake Jackson ultimately did,” Cochran said.
