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On Tuesday, July 25, 44-year-old Clinton High School teacher Jason Endress was arrested for allegedly s*xually abusing a boy approximately two decades ago. According to authorities, at the time of the incident, Endress was involved in the boy scouts. The victim, who was reportedly over the age of 13 at the time, was with the Boy Scout organization at the time.
Trigger warning: This article concerns child abuse, the reader's discretion is advised
Jason Endress has been a teacher with Eastern Iowa's Clinton school district for 22 years. On the Clinton High School website, he is listed as a science teacher for grades spanning from 9 to 12. He is currently facing charges of aggravated abuse. The suspect has no prior criminal history in Iowa.
As the case is currently still being probed, there are inconsistent accounts of where the abuse incident took place. While the Ogle County Sheriff's Department noted that it supposedly occured in rural Oregon, the Clinton High School District stated that it occured in rural Illinois.
All there is to know about the allegations against Jason Endress
Jason Endress was arrested for the abuse allegations in Illinois, where he resided in the city of Morrison. He was subsequently transported to Ogle County jail. A day after, on July 26, Endress made his first appearance in court.
In an official statement released at 9:30 am on Wednesday, the Ogle County Sheriff's Office addressed the arrest.
The statement read:
"The arrest stems from an investigation in which Endress is alleged to have (inappropriate) ocontact with a minor in rural Oregon. Endress was held in the Ogle County Jail without bond and will appear in court on 7/26/23. Ogle County Sheriff's Detectives were assisted by the Illinois State Police Zone 2 Investigations."
In a separate statement, released at 1:45 pm on the same day, the Clinton Community school district said that the case is still under investigation. They did not discuss Jason Endress' future with the school district. However, they said that they will conduct their own independent inquiry into the matter.
The statement read:
"Clinton Community School District has been informed that a Clinton High School teacher was arrested yesterday for aggravated sexual abuse arising out of an incident which allegedly occurred in Ogle County, Illinois approximately twenty years ago. The matter is currently under investigation."
As reported by Shaw Local, Endress first came under investigation after the Boy Scouts organization reported the alleged abuse to the Ogle County Sheriff's Department. They did not discuss how the accusations resurfaced after two decades.
Superintendent Gary DeLacy said that school district officials are still trying to deal with the case.
DeLacy said:
“We’re just trying to get our arms around this."
Jason Endress' bond was set at $100,000. The suspect is scheduled for a preliminary status hearing on August 2.
