High school counselor was ‘grooming our girls for his pleasure,’ Missouri mom says

A high school counselor used his position of power to execute a “carefully orchestrated web of manipulation” that had him preying on female students seeking guidance in Missouri, according to federal authorities.

James Q. Jenkins did so by using students’ past sexual abuse or religious beliefs, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson said in a Dec. 20 news release. Authorities said he had sexual contact with one female student and “inappropriate contact” with nine other students.

Now the former school counselor has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, according to court records from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. Following his time in prison, he’ll be on supervised release for the rest of his life and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Jenkins, 38, pleaded guilty to two felonies in September, McClatchy News reported, and he admitted having inappropriate relationships with about 10 high school girls from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 1, 2021.

“While we hoped for a different sentence we respect the Court’s decision. Mr. Jenkins never wished to harm anyone and is not a predator as he has been characterized,” defense attorney Joe Flees said in a statement to McClatchy News. “Instead he (is) a person who suffers from numerous mental health issues, but issues which can be managed with treatment. He knows now he should not have been in a position to help others given his mental condition.

“Mr. Jenkins serves as a cautionary tale for individuals who work with the minors who in fact need help themselves,” he continued. “You can’t help others unless you first help yourself.”

Jenkins was working at Hancock Place High School in south St. Louis County at the time of the offenses, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, and he still faces charges in Missouri, including second-degree rape and sexual contact with a student.

“The sentence issued by the federal judge sends a strong message that the actions of Mr. James Jenkins violated the trust of our students and community,” Superintendent Kevin C. Carl said in a statement to McClatchy News. “The Hancock Place School District community will continue to move forward from this incident and support the healing of our students and staff.”

‘Manipulating and grooming’

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White, a mother said her daughter wanted to attend Jenkins’ hearing, but she “couldn’t handle the emotional turmoil from it,” according to the news release.

“He was supposed to be helping our seniors map out colleges to help them into the next step of their educational path,” the mom said in her letter. “Instead, he was manipulating and grooming our girls for his pleasure while traumatizing them for life at the same time.”

In Jenkins’ signed plea agreement, authorities said he “engaged in sexual conduct” with one of the students multiple times.

“In the first instance, (the student) reported that she told the defendant ‘no’ in regard to sexual contact, and that he did not stop until she was able to physically push him off her,” officials said. But Jenkins denies that this was “without consent” or that “forcible compulsion” occurred.

Following that incident, he made sexual contact with her several times, including after leaving school early, according to the plea agreement.

”The girl originally began meeting with Jenkins for counseling because of challenges at home,” official said.

Jenkins texted and messaged a 15-year-old student, telling her he was sexual and wanted to have sex with her, authorities said in the release. He sent her nude photos and requested she do the same, according to authorities.

He also had inappropriate messages with another teen, authorities said, including by complimenting her body and saying he wanted to have phone sex with her.

Authorities said Jenkins planned to smoke marijuana with a fourth female student and he asked her to teach him a “sensual” dance.

“About six more students told authorities that Jenkins made comments about their bodies, communicated with them on their personal cellular telephones and social media accounts, tried to make plans with them outside of school, showed them sexual videos, called them by pet names and touched them in a manner that was inappropriate and uncomfortable,” authorities said. “One teen told other counselors that Jenkins took off his shirt on a Zoom call and touched himself after telling her to share details about when she was molested.”

‘Appropriate boundaries with students’

Teachers and school administration had “expressed concerns about his behavior,” according to the plea agreement.

“In particular, school personnel were concerned that the defendant put off and delayed seeing male students in need of counseling, while demonstrating alarming familiarity and frequency of contact with certain female students,” officials said. School officials counseled him “about appropriate boundaries with students.”

Jenkins resigned from his job as a school counselor in summer 2021, authorities said. He said he needed more time to care for his sick mother, but then tried to get a job as an elementary school counselor.

An investigation later found Jenkins was previously put on administrative leave “due to inappropriate behavior with female students” at another Missouri school district, authorities said.

This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 8:46 AM with the headline "High school counselor was ‘grooming our girls for his pleasure,’ Missouri mom says."