American teacher accused of sexually abusing girl still employed despite ’11 arrest

TOKYO (TR) – An American teacher suspected of sexually abusing a 16-year-old female student in June was previously accused in a separate case six years ago but continued to be employed, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Oct. 19).

In the most recent allegations revealed by police on Thursday, Jason Allison, a 44-year-old resident of the Jingumae area of Shibuya Ward, invited the girl, a second-year high school student, back to his residence where he allegedly committed acts deemed obscene while knowing she was a minor on June 27.

Allison, who is an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) at a metropolitan high school, denies the allegations. “I didn’t know she was 16,” the suspect was quoted by the Harajuku Police Station.

According to the Mainichi, Allison was arrested in the alleged sexual abuse of a third-year middle school student, 15 years of age at the time, from Kanagawa Prefecture in April of 2011.

Though not prosecuted, Allison was re-arrested over a similar matter and fined in a summary court after being informally prosecuted. At the time, he was employed at a different metropolitan high school.

Termination of the teacher

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, a contract between an ALT and a school would mandate the termination of the teacher in such a case.

However, the length of time that had passed in Allison’s case was a factor in not terminating him, said a representative of the board. “We were not able to learn about an incident from six years ago, nor did we know he was punished,” the representative said, who added that complications related to the release of personal information was a factor in divulging any further information.

Met in Roppongi

In the most recent case, Allison met the 16-year-old girl on a street near the Roppongi Hills complex in the Roppongi district of Minato Ward. The pair then exchanged messages via the smartphone application Line.

On the day of the incident, he reportedly said to her, “Let’s watch a DVD together.” They then met in the Omotesando area before going to his residence.

Allison is also under investigation for a number of similar incidents, including the sexual abuse of a 17-year-old girl he met on a street near JR Shibuya Station in Shibuya Ward.