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Sumner-Bonney Lake School District faces lawsuit in case of former coach's alleged sex abuse

Four families are suing the district over allegations that officials didn't take appropriate action in connection to Jacob Jackson's alleged abuse of students.

SUMNER, Wash. — The Sumner-Bonney Lake School District is being sued for damages by four families who allege concerns over a former coach's behavior went largely ignored.

As a result of former Sumner High School basketball coach Jacob Jackson's alleged actions, four former students and their families are asking for compensation for medical and psychological treatments, as well as other damages and attorney's fees.

Jackson faces 10 charges, including third-degree child rape and molestation, first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, and five counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. He pleaded not guilty in May and was placed on home monitoring after making $25,000 bail.

The lawsuit claims the school district noticed as early as 2018 that there were concerns about Jackson’s direct contact with players. It also references a 2020 complaint filed with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association which stated concerns about Jackson’s use of personal connections at a Nike store and his messaging with kids as young as the sixth grade.

KING 5 has reached out to the school district for comment but has not heard back.

According to court documents, the Sumner Police Department first opened its investigation following a report made on Aug. 31, 2022, with subsequent reports following.

The documents said three players coached by Jackson were talking about the messages they received from Jackson in June or July of 2022 and decided to tell their parents about what was happening.

In the first report on Aug. 31, 2022, the mother of one of the players said inappropriate conversations between her son and Jackson were brought to her attention. She contacted the police after her son admitted to the conversations, the documents said.  A couple of hours later, the father of another player reported his son admitted that Jackson had asked him about his penis size, with other reports following.

According to the documents, between around September 2019 and August 2022 Jackson messaged multiple players he coached asking them for “progress pics,” shirtless photos, and asked them about their penis sizes.

The teens said Jackson would send them nude photos of himself over Snapchat and would ask them for nude pictures and videos.

Two teens reported to police that Jackson also sexually abused them on multiple occasions at his home.

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