A Pennsylvania high school coach has been charged with sexual misconduct arising out of an illicit sexual “relationship” with a teenage student in 2018. Jane Woodside had worked at West Shamokin High School, located in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. She had been employed by the school since 2018. She was put on leave by the previous as a result of accusations of sexual misconduct with a student. About a month ago, Woodside resigned from her position of employment with the school.
At the time of the recurring sexual assault, the target of Woodside’s misconduct was a 15-year-old female student. The student’s name understandably has not been made public. The victim was a member of the school’s softball team. Woodside was an assistant coach.
Woodside was arrested by the Pennsylvania State Police and taken into custody. Following her arrest and processing, Woodside was released on bond. The next step in the criminal proceedings is a preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing will determine whether sufficient evidence exists to move the case toward a trial.
Neither Woodside nor her legal counsel, have made any public statement regarding the charges. Thus far, Woodside has entered a not-guilty plea to the charges she faces. That plea certainly can change at a later time in the prosecutorial process.
Woodside currently faces a number of serious criminal charges stemming from her alleged sexual misconduct with the student. These include:
- Institutional sexual assault
- Aggravated indecent assault
- Indecent assault
- Corruption of minors
The criminal complaint also makes clear that Woodside attempted to hide the ongoing sexual abuse of the minor child in question. Specifically, the softball coach attempted to coerce the teenager to forgo telling anyone about the ongoing, improper sexual encounters. The coercion was particularly pointed at attempting to prevent the child from telling her mother about the “relationship.”
Ultimately, a complaint was made to the Pennsylvania Childline. Childline is a communications portal through which allegations of misconduct and abuse involving children can be reported. Individuals using Childline can remain anonymous if they do desire.
As of this time, there is no public information on who made the Childline report or whether the report was anonymous. Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Derek Weaver did comment generally on the Childline report in this case. “We take all Childline reports and any cases of this nature very seriously. We’re going to use all of our resources and we’re going to investigate them to the fullest of our power.”
Armstrong School District was notified by Armstrong County Children, Youth, and Family Services that it was launching an investigation into the alleged sexual misconduct of the assistant softball coach on March 2, 2022.
If you or a loved one (including one of your children) is the victim of sexual assault, sexual abuse, or some other type of illicit sexual misconduct, the legal team at The Doan Law Firm is here for you. You can connect with a caring, experienced, dedicated Doan Law Firm sexual abuse lawyer by calling us at (800) 349-0000.
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