Former girls’ basketball coach charged with having sex with minors arrested in Cornelius

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A former high school girls’ basketball coach at a school in Westerville has been charged with allegedly having sex with two players on his team.

According to court records, Jason P. Dawson, 35, is charged with two counts of sexual battery of a minor and one count of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, all felonies.

Dawson was arrested by Cornelius police in North Carolina on Monday. He is currently being held in Mecklenburg County Jail where he is awaiting extradition back to Franklin County.

According to court records, Dawson was a teacher and coach at Worthington Christian School in Westerville when he met one of the victims during her sophomore year. The victim told police that her relationship with Dawson turned sexual in January 2021 when she was 16 years old and ended in September 2023. The victim said she and Dawson engaged in sexual activity approximately 100 times, court records state.

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The victim told police that Dawson recorded the two having intercourse multiple times, and would then send the videos to her. According to court records, police found three of those videos on the victim’s cell phone.

According to the Franklin County Municipal Court complaint, the second victim alleges the sexual conduct took place on school property in November 2020.

Dawson was the girls’ basketball coach at Worthington Christian School for three seasons until 2022, when he left for a job in North Carolina.

The head of the school at Worthington Christian, Dr. Mike Hayes, said this week is the first time they’ve heard the allegations of crimes alleged to have happened as early as 2020.

In a statement, the district said, “The behavior described in these reports is despicable, criminal, and against everything we stand for and teach.”

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According to the district, Dawson was hired to teach and coach in 2014.

“In April 2022, following two incidents of employment discipline on matters not related to allegations of criminal activity but clear violations of our policies, Jason Dawson resigned to take a job in North Carolina,” Hayes said in the district’s statement.

An expert who supports sexual assault survivors said it takes a lot for a victim to come forward because they have to relive that trauma all over again.

“I tell the survivors I work with, this is an emotional rollercoaster,” said Shelby Lieber, with the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Assault.” There are very high highs and very low lows and some of those low lows are when you’re having to relive possibly the worst thing that’s ever happened to you over and over again.”

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Since Jan. 1, 964 people in Franklin County have reached out to OhioHealth’s Sexual Violence services for help.

“We know that it’s here and we want to do things to combat it; the best way to do that is to build community and give the community the resources and tools,” said Terra Purdy, manager, OhioHealth sexual violence services.

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