Guilty! Jason David Barker, La Crescent, Minnesota (arrested Jan 2013)

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Jason David Barker, 37, special-education teacher at La Crescent Montessori Academy, La Crescent, Minnesota, "three separate counts each of second-degree and fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, stemming from relationships he had with three girls all younger than 13"

Formerly worked at:

• Bluffview Montessori School, Winona, Minnesota
• Riverway Learning Community, Winona, Minnesota
• Three Rivers Waldorf School, La Crosse, Wisconsin

Both articles in the Winona Daily News have a lot of additional information, much more than I can legitimately quote here. The first article deals with the specifics of the current case, and the second article delves into his background at other schools in the area. I would suggest reading both articles in their entirety.

Winona Daily News: Barker criminal complaint details months of ‘weird touches’ (Jan 30 2013)

The criminal complaint against Jason David Barker accuses him of ongoing inappropriate relationships with at least three young girls at La Crescent Montessori Academy, offering what one described as “weird touches,” hugging them and asking them to sit on his lap only after he closed the door. Sometimes when he moved his hand up a shirt or down pants and a girl told him to stop, he listened, the complaint said. Other times he didn’t.​

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Weeks ago, the girls again told him to stop — this time together, publicly confronting him at the school — and a flushed and pale Barker turned to an administrator and told his side of the story, according to the complaint. The confrontation soon led to his arrest.​

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Winona Daily News: Few answers for why Jason David Barker worked at Bluffview, Riverway, Three Rivers Waldorf: Man charged with molestation at La Crescent Montessori also worked at area charter schools despite previous felony charges (Jan 31 2013)

The special-education teacher from Winona who has been charged with molesting young girls at La Crescent Montessori Academy also worked at several Winona-area charter schools for years, despite having a 1995 felony conviction and a misdemeanor charge of providing alcohol to teenage girls on his record. Additionally, Jason David Barker, 37, was hired full-time at the La Crescent school months after he was charged with a felony for threatening to stab a couple in Winona. That case is still pending. Barker has not been accused of wrongdoing at any other school, but school administrators had few answers Wednesday for why he was allowed to work in their buildings ...​

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NBC News: Special Ed Teacher Accused Of Molesting Children (Jan 30 2013)

Thirty-seven-year-old Jason David Barker is charged in Houston County District Court with second-degree criminal sexual conduct and fifth-degree sexual conduct with children younger than 13. Prosecutors say five students at La Crescent Montessori Academy confronted Barker earlier this month about his behavior. School staff called police and Baker was arrested at his home Jan. 18.​

 

La Crosse Tribune: Teacher charged with molesting students (Jan 30 2013)

Five students confronted [Jason] Barker earlier this month about their discomfort with how he “acted with them,” prosecutors said. At least one student told a school staff member that Barker put “his hands down the back of her pants, lifted her shirt, rubbed her belly and touched her breasts,” according to the criminal complaint. The student also said Barker made her sit on his lap in his office. One student said the abuse had been happening for months. School staff called police after the confrontation, and Barker was arrested Jan. 18 at his home. Barker had been a part-time substitute teacher at the 62-student school since April. He was hired full-time as the special-education director in September, despite being charged with a felony in June in Winona County.​

 

La Crosse Tribune: Teacher charged with sexual misconduct (Jan 31 2013)

At least one student, younger than 13 years old, told a staff member that Barker put “his hands down the back of her pants, lifted her shirt, rubbed her belly and touched her breasts,” according to the complaint. The student also alleged that Barker would touch her buttocks and breasts on several occasions, as well as makd her sit on his lap in his office. The same student was then interviewed by a forensic interview specialist. The student confirmed what was told to the staff member, then added that the touching occurred more than once and had happened over the course of four months. The student had told Barker “she didn’t like what he was doing, but he kept doing it,” according to the complaint ... Allegations of sexual conduct with “several female students aged 12 and under,” were also made at the time of the initial report. According to the complaint, Barker admitted to police that he hugged students, as well as gave them back rubs and hugs and had them sit on his lap with his office door closed. He denied touching any students in the “breast, buttocks or vaginal areas.”​

 

Pioneer Press: La Crescent special ed teacher accused of molesting children (Jan 30 2013)

Thirty-seven-year-old Jason David Barker is charged in Houston County District Court with second-degree criminal sexual conduct and fifth-degree sexual conduct with children younger than 13 ... A criminal complaint says one student told school staff Barker put his hands down her pants and touched her breasts. The La Crosse Tribune says Barker has denied the allegations, but says sometimes he pushes the "boundaries in teaching."​

Duluth News Tribune: Minnesota special education teacher accused of molesting children (Jan 30 2013)

WQOW: La Crescent special ed teacher accused of molesting children (Jan 30 2013)

 

Faribault County Register: Special ed teacher accused of molesting children (Jan 31 2013)

Thirty-seven-year-old Jason David Barker is charged in Houston County District Court with second-degree criminal sexual conduct and fifth-degree sexual conduct with children younger than 13. Prosecutors say five students at La Crescent Montessori Academy confronted Barker earlier this month about his behavior. School staff called police and Barker was arrested at his home Jan. 18. A criminal complaint says one student told school staff Barker put his hands down her pants and touched her breasts.​

Marshall Independent: Special ed teacher accused of molesting children (Jan 31 2013)

 

Caledonia Argus: La Crescent Montessori teacher arrested for sexual misconduct (Jan 5 2013)

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A La Crescent Montessori Academy teacher was arrested for two counts of criminal sexual misconduct Jan. 18 for alleged incidents involving at least three young female students. Jason David Barker, 37 of Winona, has been charged with one count of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree for unlawful sexual conduct with a child under the age of 13 and one count of criminal sexual conduct in the fifth degree for nonconsensual sexual contact with a female student under the age of 13.​

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Barker was hired as the school’s full-time special education director in September and had previously held a part-time substitute teaching position at the school. His criminal record includes misdemeanor burglary, a drug charge and felony damage to property.​

With that kind of record, how did pass the background checks when he was hired?

 

WXOW: La Crescent Montessori teacher in court (Feb 6 2013)

Wednesday's hearing was [Jason] Barker's first appearance with his attorneys ... As part of the conditions of his bond, Barker is not to leave Minnesota. However, Wednesday the judge said Barker, who lives in Winona according to court records, can travel to La Crosse for shopping and banking purposes, though he has to take the I-90 bridge and cannot travel through La Crescent.​

 

WQOW: La Crescent Montessori teacher in court (Feb 7 2013)

Police arrested Jason David Barker last month. According to the criminal complaint, a student under the age of 13 told a teacher that Barker touched her inappropriately more than five times. Another student told a similar story ... Barker has a previous felony conviction of criminal damage to property. His next court appearance is scheduled for February 27.​

 

Houston County News: Barker sits silent at brief hearing (Feb 13 2013)

Jason David Barker sat silently in the Houston County district courtroom. He didn’t enter a plea and spoke only when spoken to by Judge James Fabian. Barker, a former special education teacher at La Crescent Montessori and STEM School, made his Rule 8 hearing appearance Feb. 6 in Houston County District Court. The 37-year-old Winona man was arrested Jan. 18 and is charged with three counts each of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and fifth-degree sexual conduct with children younger than 13. According to criminal complaints, Barker, who has worked at LMA in some capacity since April 2012, allegedly inappropriately touched his victims — all females — by putting his hands down the back of their pants, rubbing their bellies and touching their breast and buttocks areas on several occasions.​