Former Bible Baptist School Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse

The Sentinel
March 26, 2013

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-bible-baptist-school-teacher-pleads-guilty-to-sexual-abuse/article_9b505964-9654-11e2-a927-001a4bcf887a.html

For seven victims, the guilty plea offered by William Jackson Tuesday was one more step in the direction of healing, officials said.

Jackson, 57, of New Cumberland pleaded guilty Tuesday to 11 of the 35 sexual assault charges against him. Standing before Judge Edward Guido handcuffed and in prison garb, Jackson was asked if he was admitting to the charges, which he answered with a soft “Yes, sir.”

Jackson entered the plea to three counts of institutional sexual assault, five felony counts of corruption of minors, one consolidated felony count of indecent assault and two counts of misdemeanor corruption of minors.

The former music minister at the Bible Baptist School in Shiremanstown admitted to touching and having sexually explicit talks with seven boys between the ages of 8 and 17. The incidents happened between January 2010 and September 2012.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Christin Mehrtens-Carlin said several of the victims reported that Jackson touched them inappropriately, engaged in private massages and requested them to do lewd acts, all in his capacity as a teacher at the school or giving private lessons at school.

He will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. July 2, after receiving a sexual offender evaluation to see if he will be classified as a sexually violent predator.

Moving forward

“We are obviously pleased to move this process forward so the victims and their families can begin healing,” Mehrtens-Carlin said. “This was certainly the first step toward that healing.”

Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed said the guilty plea keeps the victims from having to take the stand and relive this situation.

“Part of the consideration in any case like this is, in going to trial, what it is going to put the victims through,” he said. “We were able to obtain, because of a good investigation, pleas to the most serious counts, pleas that take care of or indicate conduct that reflects his behavior with each and every one of the victims.”

Freed said because of a new law on institutional sexual assault, which was enacted within the last few years, the charges are more serious because it involved Jackson’s position as a teacher.

“The sexual conduct was indecent assault, essentially fondling,” he said. “But what we have now is a more serious charge, because of the statue of institutional sexual assault, which was passed and has been extended to teachers or school personnel.”

Freed said his office worked diligently on the investigation after the first victim came forward, and six other victims were found.

“We tried to find out every child he had contact with, leave no stone unturned,” he said.

The plea allows the victims to move on with their lives, he said.

“I never call it closure, because I don’t believe it is closure, but what a guilty plea does and a sentence will do is allow them to move on to the next step in their lives,” he said.

Jackson’s attorney Karl Rominger said this was a tough case.

“He was prepared to read a statement apologizing to the community, friends, family, victims, but I explained to him that that was best left for sentencing,” he said. “It is a fairly straight-forward apology to everyone involved, asking for forgiveness.”

His client, who initially maintained his innocence, eventually pleaded guilty.

“You have to look at the totality of the circumstances, the evidence,” Rominger said.

Charges

Jackson was fired from his position as music minister on Sept. 10 amid the allegations of sexual abuse.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, an investigation was initiated after concerned parents approached the school about the possible abuse. Those concerns were then brought to law enforcement by school administration.

The document states a 17-year-old boy said Jackson fondled him. The parents of the boy supplied police with 19 pages of text and emails Jackson had sent to the boy, some of which had graphic language.

Shiremanstown Police initiated the investigation and contacted the District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigation Division. Several other departments were included in the investigation.

The boy told police that he had been fondled by Jackson when he was 15, and spoke of another student, who was also interviewed by police. He said Jackson had placed his hand on his genital area over the clothes two to three times beginning in February. He also told police that he would attend counseling sessions with Jackson.

Posted earlier on Cumberlink:

Former Bible Baptist School music minister William Jackson Tuesday pleaded guilty in court to the sexual abuse of seven students.

Jackson did not say anything during the guilty plea, and the families of the victims declined to comment.

Jackson was scheduled to make the plea last week, but it was rescheduled so families could be present.

He will undergo evaluation on whether or not he will be deemed a sexually violent predator, and he will be sentenced in July.

For more on this story, check back to Cumberlink and check out The Sentinel's print edition on Wednesday.