Mount Dora HS counselor molested teen at school, police say

MOUNT DORA, Fla. — A counselor at Mount Dora High School has been arrested after a 15-year-old girl said she was molested by him at the school, police said.

Jason William Roberts, 40, of Oxford, is accused of molesting the teen between Jan. 16 to March 10, police said.

The teen girl told police Sept. 1 that Roberts would take her into a “test” classroom where the incidents occurred, police said.

On one occasion, two other students went into the test classroom and Roberts told the girl not to say a word and that he would go to jail for his actions and for the way he spoke to her, police said.

The teen told police that in the moment she thought what Roberts was doing was “ok” because she wanted attention and no one wanted to date her, investigators said. The teen said Roberts's attention filled a void and that she felt like she was in a relationship with him, investigators said.

"I was heartbroken that my daughter had to go through that and angry, of course, I was angry," said the teen's mother who didn't want to be identified.

Roberts would text the teen and then tell her to delete them, police said.

The mother told Channel 9's Myrt Price that she realized the teen and Roberts were texting each other but never filed a formal complaint.

"At that time, I did not because of the program that my child was in at the time. I spoke to the program people and I let them know my concerns, so they were kind of making themselves more present, going up to her school more frequently to check on things," the mother said.

Roberts turned himself in to the Lake County Jail Wednesday and faces two charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 16 years old.

Roberts has been with the school district since 2012 and is an ESE specialist who works with special needs and special education students.

A spokesperson for the school district said Roberts was pulled out of the classroom Aug. 30 and placed on paid leave for an unrelated incident that doesn't involve a child.

Cox Media Group