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| Jason Dean |
Jason Dean, 37, of Livonia, who was sentenced to prison May 20, also served as a coach with the area-wide Michigan Hawks girls' soccer team.
The victim, now an adult, was in the eighth grade at the time of the original sexual incidents. She went to police with her complaints last year, explaining that Dean had begun the campaign of sexual abuse in 2010 when he was associated with Cedar Crest Academy in Springfield Township. When he was arrested in 2020, Dean was teaching at Northville High School.
The victim told police that Dean took a “special interest” in her as she was a soccer and basketball player at the school. She said that months of sexual activity occurred with Dean, including in the school classroom and at Dean's apartment.
Following Dean's arraignment on the charges, allegations of inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature were reported at both the Wayne and Northville high schools where he previously was employed.
Dean entered a plea of no-contest to the charges and through his attorney agreed to a minimum of nine years in prison with prosecutors.
During Dean's sentencing, the victim told the court, “I was stuck with the decision of ensuring that this does not happen to another child. Obviously, I chose to report because I couldn't live knowing what I know and not doing anything to prevent it from happening again.”
While Dean issued an apology for his actions during the court sentencing, including a Biblical quote, Judge Yasmine Poles called his actions “deplorable.”
“Your action is a reason why parents lie awake at night terrified about where they're going to drop their children off the next day, to what childcare, to what teacher, to what coach,” she said before handing down Dean's sentence. She said that she would not allow Dean's actions to reflect badly on those professions in the community and that he as “the bad actor” would serve the prison time as the punishment he “deserved and well earned.”
