Teacher sexually assaults girl in airplane, school and secret apartment, MI cops say

A Michigan teacher was arrested Monday after a woman said she was sexually assaulted by him when she was a middle-school student of his.

Jason William Dean, ateacher at Northville High School in Clarkston, Michigan, is charged with three counts of criminal sexual conduct, jail records show. A prosecutor is seeking additional charges against Dean, who taught at Cedar Crest Academy at the time of the allegations, WDIV-TV reported.

A relationship between Dean and the student began in 2010 when the girl was 12 years old and in the seventh grade and continued when she became an eighth-grader, officials said, WDIV reported. The alleged sexual encounters occurred “on school grounds, at after-school events and other locations” and deputies corroborated the woman’s allegations, according to Hometown Life.

The locations include the girl’s home, the teacher’s classroom, a hotel, an airplane while returning from a class trip and a secret apartment, where he “had sex with her at least 30 times,” prosecutors said, according to WDIV. The TV station reported there could be other victims.

Cedar Crest Academy stated to WXYZ-TV that Dean has not been employed at the school since 2010 and that they are working with law enforcement in the investigation. Dean also coached soccer and basketball at the academy, WXYZ said.

“Our primary concern is for the safety, health, and well‐being of our students, staff, families, and community,” Cedar Crest stated to the TV station. “We believe there is no threat of safety to our current students and families. Student safety is our first concern.”

In addition to his current teaching job at Northville, Dean is also a youth soccer coach in the area, according to MIHeadlines.com.

The soccer club Dean coaches will take “immediate steps” to remove him of his duties, according to WXYZ. The TV station also said Dean has been placed on administrative leave by his current school.

“We do not have any reason to believe, at this time, that the allegations and charges involve any Northville student,” the school told parents in a statement obtained by WXYZ.

Dean has been booked in the Oakland County Jail and a $500,000 bond has been set for his release, jail records show.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard applauded “this brave victim in coming forward.”

“Our teachers are supposed to be trusted mentors, role models, and leaders for our children, and when one violates this trust, they must be held accountable and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Bouchard said in a statement to Hometown Life.

Prosecutors said Dean admitted to having a “sexual relationship” with the girl, WDIV reported. Each of Dean’s sexual conduct charges carries a maximum life sentence, according to WDIV.

This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Teacher sexually assaults girl in airplane, school and secret apartment, MI cops say."