NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Newport News assistant principal is behind bars in Chesapeake, accused of child sex crimes.
13News Now reported Thursday that Jason Taylor faces more than a dozen felony charges. Friday, we are hearing from a former Warwick High School student who said he knew Taylor.
According to arrest records, the Warwick High School assistant principal faces 13 felony charges in the city of Chesapeake. The 45-year-old faces six counts of sodomy, six counts of indecent liberties with a child and one count of rape. Documents say the alleged crimes happened between 2015 and 2018 and involved a teenage girl.
Thursday, a school division spokeswoman confirmed Taylor is suspended without pay. She also said the crimes Taylor is accused of committing happened before he started working for the school division.
Robert Jones, who graduated from Warwick High School in 2019, said he had a close relationship with Taylor but insists Taylor was never inappropriate with him.
"Our interactions were great. He was like my best friend. We did male mentorship together," he said.
But hearing the allegations shocked Jones.
"To hear that is something I never in a million years thought that I would hear."
Jones said he doesn’t know exactly what happened, but if what Taylor is accused of is true, he wants to know why he did it.
"I’m just shocked and disappointed," he said.
Jones also said he hopes these allegations encourage the Newport News School Division triple check who they’re hiring because instances like this one could create a breakdown in trust among students and teachers.
"It’s already hard going through high school not having those relationships because you go through so much. To have an administrator you know you can be close to and you can talk to and to see they do this kind of makes you feel like, ‘Man, like I don’t know if I want to share all this stuff.’"
Taylor's next court appearance is set for November 10.