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KING 5 Seattle published April 17, 2025: Former basketball coach to be sentenced for child rape convictions. Former Sumner High School coach Jacob Jackson was convicted in January of 19 sex crime charges involving teenage boys.
King5 News, Seattle, WA local
written by Helen Smith, Conner Board
Thursday April 17, 2025
PIERCE COUNTY, Washington — A judge sentenced former Sumner High School head basketball coach Jacob Jackson Thursday to 40 years in prison for sex crimes against minors.
Prosecutors initially asked the judge to sentence Jackson to 980 months, or 80 years in prison, while the defense argued for the standard range, asking for 10 years. The judge ruled that while 80 years was excessive, the facts of the case did call for an exceptional sentence, ultimately deciding on 480 months, which is 40 years.
Jackson's former players and their families, who KING 5 spoke with, said they were happy with the 40-year sentence and felt like justice was served, and hoped this would allow those impacted to start the healing process.
Jackson was convicted in January on 19 counts of sex crimes against his former basketball players, including sexual exploitation of a child, rape of a child, and child molestation. In all, eight teens came forward to report the crimes and reminded the court Thursday of the lifelong repercussions of Jackson's actions.
“We were just kids, trying to play the sport we loved, and instead, we were being manipulated by someone who was supposed to be looking out for us,” one victim's impact statement read. "The consequences didn't stop when he got caught. We are still living with them every single day."
Multiple of the players who were groomed and targeted by Jackson were in the courtroom for the sentencing, some still in high school. One chose to address the court himself.
"I stand here today to demand accountability, to shed light on the truth, and to ensure that no one else has to endure what I have," he said. "They say you don't know what you have until it's gone. This became truer than ever when I had to confront what was taken from me, my innocence, my sense of security, and my ability to simply exist as a teenager without fear or shame."
In statements delivered in front of the court, multiple of the victims reported struggling with trust issues and forming close relationships, believing people trying to get close to them had ulterior motives, with a particular distrust for authority figures. Multiple said they could no longer feel joy from playing basketball.
Parents reported struggling with feelings of guilt that they had not noticed or could NOT protect their children from Jackson's abuse. They spoke about the pain of watching their sons live with the aftermath.
"We have all experienced sleepless nights, anger, shame," one parent's statement read. "This has been an unimaginable betrayal to us and our son."
The mother of a different boy shared a similar sentiment.
“I knew a lot about you," she said in tears. "What I didn’t know, what I somehow failed to recognize over a two-year period of time, is that you were grooming, communicating inappropriately, molesting, and raping my son. For that, I will never forgive you and I pray that someday I will forgive myself.”
The judge took time to tell the parents that this is not their fault, and is only the fault of Jackson.
The only time Jackson expressed emotion in court Thursday was when he was pleading with the judge for a more lenient sentence, breaking down in tears while he delivered his statement.
"Your honor, I ask you for grace and mercy, a second chance on life to prove that I'm a changed man," Jackson said.
Jackson apologized to the victims by name, their families, the community, and his own family. Judge Philip K. Sorenson said he believed Jackson's remorse was "deep," but he believed what Jackson was most sorry for was the fact that he got caught.
"It appears clear to me that if (the victims hadn't come forward), I think (the abuse) would have just continued," Sorenson said.
The judge commended the bravery of the eight boys who came forward to report Jackson's crimes and testified in court, calling them "as credible a group of kids as I've seen."
Sumner community members and family members said the boys prevented others from enduring the same abuse.
"Every single one of these boys is a hero whose bravery saved countless boys in our community," said one mother.
Jackson's crimes came to light in the summer of 2022 when three players coached by him were talking about sexual messages they received from Jackson in June or July 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. A couple of hours later, the father of another player reported his son shared that Jackson 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 sexually abused them on multiple occasions at his home.
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KOMO News, Seattle, WA local
written by Jackie Kent
Thursday April 17, 2025
TACOMA, Wash. — A former Sumner High School boys' basketball coach was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison, three months after he was found guilty of 19 sex crime counts against his teenage basketball players.
Prosecutors say Jacob Jackson groomed and manipulated eight teen boys between 2018 and 2022.
Sumner police began investigating when they received the first report on Aug. 31, 2022, after one parent found secret messages between Jackson and their child on that teenager's phone. Some of the victims then told police they met Jackson as early as the sixth grade while attending Jackson’s basketball camps and compared their relationship with Jackson to a second father figure growing up.
Multiple players then reported that Jackson consistently asked for inappropriate pictures and messaged them continuously on Snapchat. Others reported they did yard work at Jackson’s home, where some of the abuse also reportedly happened.
At the time of his arrest, court documents detailed some of the abuse, where Jackson urged players to keep quiet about the abuse, saying phrases like “to the grave," "lifelong," and "this stays between us.”
Cochran also told KOMO News that through their investigation, they found evidence there were complaints about Jackson’s inappropriate behavior long before it was initially reported to police in 2022.
“There were complaints regarding Jackson back in 2018,” Cochran said, “There were concerns about him individually texting players, there were concerns in 2020 that were brought up to the school district and the WIAA that he was Snapchatting kids, and to the best, we’ve been able to find, no one intervened to stop him.”
Jackson appeared emotionless throughout the Thursday sentencing until he gave a statement and cried, apologizing to each victim, their families, and his family. He asked the judge for grace and mercy, and a second chance at life to prove he's a changed man.
The judge didn't buy it, saying he believed Jackson was only sorry he got caught.
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