Two Arizona High School Coaches Indicted for Unrelated Sex Crimes

April 08, 2009

There must be something in the water in Apache Junction, Ariz. For the second time in two months, an Apache Junction High School girls' basketball coach has been indicted on charges of sexual misconduct involving a student.

The most recent case, involving 25-year-old Raeanna Jewell, came to light on March 26 when the mother of a 16-year-old student noticed suspicious text messages on her daughter's cell phone. The messages were allegedly sent by Jewell. The exact context of those messages has not yet been released. However, some of the texts purportedly included inappropriate images, a practice commonly referred to as "sexting."

During the course of the investigation, Apache Junction police determined that Jewell had allegedly engaged in inappropriate contact with the teen inside a restroom at the high school gym. Police say that the incidents occurred between Jan. 1 and March 26. Upon completing their investigation, police arrested Jewell on March 29.

The allegations came as a shock to many local residents. Prior to becoming a girls' basketball and softball coach, Jewell was a star basketball player at Washington's Gonzaga University, where, in 2005, she completed her career, having scored over 1,000 points.

"Rae is a dominant force offensively and defensively," former teammate Katie Prichard said in a March 2005 interview with gonzagabulletin.com. "She can drive and pull-up and shoot the lights out at the three-point line. She also has really quick feet and is strong and tough. Rae is a solid contributor and consistent."

The article went on to describe Jewell as an aggressive player with tremendous rebounding skills.

Regardless of her athletic skills, Jewell could not evade the Pinal County grand jury, who indicted her on April 2 on two counts of sexual conduct with a minor and luring a minor for sexual exploitation.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this case is the fact that Jewell had been hired by Apache Junction High School as a replacement for Jason Beck. On Feb. 3, police arrested 24-year-old Beck on charges of sexual conduct with a 15-year-old girl.

Beck was indicted on Feb. 11 for sexual conduct with a minor and luring a minor for sexual exploitation. According to the indictment, Beck's charges stemmed from incidents that occurred in December 2008, when he allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old basketball player. Beck is also accused of soliciting oral sex from the teen via text messages.

"They were professional peers. Unfortunately, they got caught up in poor judgment," Apache Junction Police Captain Tom Kelly said of Beck and Jewell in an interview with azcentral.com. "They should have known better."

According to officials at Apache Junction High School, they are reviewing their hiring process.

Raeanna Jewell is being held at the Pinal County jail in lieu of a $750,000 bond. She is expected to appear in court on April 10. Jason Beck remains free on a $25,000 bond.

Related Links:
Pennsylvania Teacher's Aide Arrested for Allegedly Hosting Teen Sex and Drug Party
New Charges Filed Against Abbiejane Swogger, Former Teacher Accused of Hosting Teen Sex Party

Photo Credits: Police Mug Shots

Please note: Persons appearing in mug shots may not have not been convicted of the charges for which they are accused and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Comments

[James]

It will be very interesting to see how the Court system handles these two very similar cases. All too often women predators are given a slap on the wrist while their male counterparts are handled appropriately.

Neither of these individuals should be allowed any contact with minors after they have served a lengthy sentence. The long term ramifications for their victims will last a lifetime.

Those poor kids will never be the same.

[Fuzzy]

That takes the cake. Wonder if the two coaches will hook up in prison? They certainly have a lot in common!

[Cheryl Meril Jenkins & Co.]

I really think the blogger is focusing on women's activities in a biased way on this blog. I see an overwhelming amount of focus on women, this one in particular, that is in my mind fairly petty. So some teacher has problems with her impulses with students. In the 70's era our choir teacher was sleeping with students on their Europe tours! He would come up to me and rub against my front side in front of the entire choral group! This was a wealthy conservative community in California. This was the kind of thing men got away with. Needless to say, I got an award that year. I wonder had I complained or rejected him if I would have done so well?

In the 1960's I had a 6th grade male teacher put his arms around me and kiss my cheek as he tutored me alone during the lunch hour - I got straight A's in that class.

So when some lesbian teacher in her 20's does some mild sexing with students, you make it a major crime worthy of being among the murderers on this blog? Blurring the lines of reality. This teacher's crime is petty and not worth posing on this extremely serious crime blog.

[Mary]

Yes, we refuse to help even the perpetrators and slap them on the wrists and put the pedophile in as a day care teacher. No one wants to really see. Seems in the modern age... if you can't see it (crimes of the physical) it must not be real until its too late.