CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A judge has granted bond for a Newport News assistant principal accused of child sex crimes in Chesapeake.
Jason Taylor's bond was set at $88,000, and his attorney, Shaw Cline, said he expects Taylor to be released sometime on Thursday.
Taylor is an assistant principal at Warwick High School, but a Newport News Public Schools spokeswoman said the crimes Taylor is accused of committing happened before he started working for the school division.
Court documents say the alleged crimes happened between 2015 and 2018 and involved a teenage girl. A Chesapeake Commonwealth's Attorney said the victim was a student at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake and that Taylor groomed her over the years, eventually having sexual relations with her.
The prosecutor said those acts sometimes happened in smaller band room closets.
She said the victim was about 14 to 15 years old when it started. The prosecutor said when questioned by detectives, Taylor told them he had a flirtatious text relationship with the victim, but only once she got to college.
Taylor’s father and wife testified during the bond hearing. They said Taylor is a Navy veteran. His wife told the judge he has type 1 diabetes, and she is worried about his medical care in jail.
“Other than these allegations, his record is unblemished," said Cline, Taylor's attorney.
The prosecutor also told the judge that another victim came forward to a detective but said those incidents happened in another city. Taylor's attorney said he isn’t aware of a second victim.
“It appears from what the Commonwealth said today, no charges have been brought and nothing is immediately pending," Cline said.
Cline said Taylor is looking forward to clearing his name at trial.
“I think today went very well and I am pleased that Mr. Taylor will be home with his family," Cline said. " I think the judge did the right thing. The allegations against my client are serious, but as I am aware, there doesn’t appear to be any support for them. My client denies the allegations.”
13News Now has reached out to Chesapeake Public Schools to confirm if Taylor previously worked in its school division, but we haven't heard back.
Taylor is currently charged with 12 counts of sodomy, 12 counts of indecent liberties with a child, and two counts of rape.