Former Preble County Deputy Convicted of Sexual Battery, Evidence Tampering Involving Student

According to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Mason Williams, a former Preble County deputy sheriff, was found guilty of sexual battery and tampering with evidence after having a sexual contact with a student at National Trail High School, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. The 26-year-old Williams was convicted of three third-degree felonies, including two counts of sexual battery and one count of evidence tampering, while serving as a school resource officer. This is the fourth instance of similar student misconduct that the AG’s office has prosecuted.

“There is no age or no so-called consent that makes a school employee having sex with a student appropriate,” Yost said on the Dave Yost website of the Ohio Attorney General, emphasizing that Ohio law clearly forbids school employees from having sex with students at their institution. “Parents shouldn’t have to worry about predators when they send their kids to school,” Yost added. Yost’s remarks are consistent with the state’s position that any claim to consensual contact is nullified by the power dynamics of a school setting, as stated in the conviction statement. Williams will now be sentenced on December 16 and might face jail time in addition to having to register as a sex offender.

Along with Williams, other cases have brought attention to the problem. For example, Caroline Johnson’s guilty plea to sexual battery, Shawn Long’s jail sentence for spreading harmful content, and Steve Kent’s unsuccessful appeal of his sentence for tampering with evidence related to unlawful conduct with students all seem to point to a pattern that Yost’s office is diligently working to correct. The larger goal of shielding children from predatory behavior by persons in positions of authority in educational environments is in line with the prosecution of these individuals.

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