Pressed by prosecution, ex-Sumner coach denies sending sexually explicit photos to players
The former head coach of the Sumner High School boys basketball team repeatedly denied ever sending explicit photographs of himself to players during cross-examination Wednesday in his sex-abuse trial.
Jacob “Jake” Jackson, 37, made few admissions while testifying for a second day in the trial, which centers on eight former basketball players’ allegations that the coach sent them or requested inappropriate or sexually explicit photos through text, Instagram and Snapchat. The boys were between the ages of 13 and 16 when the alleged messages began.
Some players have said that Jackson raped or molested them at his Lake Tapps home. Jackson was hired as the head varsity coach in 2016, and he resigned after the school district was notified of the allegations in August 2022.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty to 19 criminal offenses. According to court records, a 20th offense of indecent exposure was dropped during the trial. He has been out of custody on $25,000 bail.
Deputy prosecuting attorney Megan Winder pressed Jackson on a range of topics, including whether he had ever asked players to send photos of their penises with a ruler, if several of the alleged victims had ever been inside his master bedroom closet — where Jackson is accused of masturbating or orally raping them — as well as his ex-wife’s knowledge of his communications with players, his relationship with players’ parents and his reasoning for using Snapchat to communicate with some of the boys.
Winder’s inquiries on whether Jackson sent or asked for explicit photos were more statements than questions, but Jackson didn’t budge.
“You asked [the alleged victim] for photos of his penis with a ruler,” Winder said.
“Never did that,” Jackson replied.
The defendant similarly denied sending explicit photos of himself to that victim and four others that Winder questioned him about.
Jurors were shown a photograph of Jackson’s master bedroom closet that contained his sneaker collection. It showed 24 shoe-sized cubbyholes above a clothing hangar with more shoes below. The defendant described himself as a “sneakerhead” during his testimony, and prosecutors have alleged that he sometimes used his collection as a way to lure the boys to the upstairs bedroom.
Winder displayed one text message exchange where the defendant agreed to give one of the alleged victims a pair of Nike “PG 2.5 Playstation” shoes in exchange for a day of yard work. Jackson said he couldn’t recall whether the alleged victim had ever come up to look at the collection.
One of Jackson’s few admissions to Winder was that he joked about another boy’s penis size in a text message with another player. The defendant’s attorney, Brett Purtzer, brought up the exchange last month during the state’s case, saying that Jackson and the player were making fun of another teammate’s penis size.
“You also sent [the alleged victim] pictures of you peeing in urinals,” Winder said.
“I never did that,” Jackson said.
“That would be funny, wouldn’t it?” Winder said.
“No, not at all,” Jackson said.
“But penis size is funny?” Winder asked.
“In context, penis size, I mean looking at those messages there’s nine laughing emojis with [the alleged victim]. We were joking, yes,” Jackson said.
Winder brought up Jackson’s ex-wife, Stacy, several times. She testified Tuesday that she never saw Jackson messaging with players. Winder zeroed in on that, asking Jackson if he was intentionally hiding his communications with players from his wife — “Never,” Jackson said — or if he was messaging players in front of her, which Jackson said depended on the day and where he was.
Jackson’s defense has largely described the former coach’s communications with players as a means of motivating them to reach their full potential as basketball players, including exchanging abdominal photos as a way to see their physical improvement and boost self-confidence.
At least one alleged victim has testified to being “weirded out” by Jackson’s messages, and prosecutors have explained it as part of the defendant’s “playbook” to get them more comfortable with sending photos or videos of their body.
Jackson agreed several times Wednesday that he told players he loved them and called them nicknames like “Brody” because it was part of basketball culture.
Winder at one point asked Jackson if parents ever asked for this kind of treatment.
“Parents never asked you to talk to their kids or call their kids sexy, correct?” Winder asked.
“No,” Jackson said.
Jackson and Winder also disagreed on the main attraction of an app like Snapchat, which the defendant allegedly used to ask players for videos of them masturbating.
Winder contended that the premise of Snapchat is that messages are automatically deleted after 24 hours, but Jackson said the app’s strength is the ability to communicate with a lot of people quickly. On Tuesday, he said he used the app when he wanted an immediate response from a player.
The trial will continue Thursday with further cross-examination of Jackson, followed by a re-cross by the defense.
