A Connecticut man has been accused of sending inappropriate messages to two teenage girls.
Jason Stimson, 51, of New Hartford faces two counts each of harmful communication with a minor and risk of injury to a minor, according to court records.
He was arrested by Connecticut State Police on Aug. 22 and is free on a $10,000 bond.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit supporting the charges, the investigation began in June when Stimson’s mother allegedly disclosed to a therapist that she believed he was “sexting” two teenage girls who he had allegedly coached. The therapist notified the state Department of Children and Families before a state police investigation was launched.
“It certainly is an odd warrant,” Stimson’s attorney, Norm Pattis, told the Courant. “He told his mother, who told her therapist, who alerted DCF. That’s a first for me.”
“Mr. Stimson is a good man in harm’s way,” Pattis said. “It’s my privilege to stand beside him.”
Investigators identified the alleged victims in the warrant as two girls, ages 14 and 15. In the warrant, state police identified Stimson as a youth coach and made multiple references to alleged ties with Regional School District 7 in Winsted. Superintendent of Schools Steven LePage said that information is not accurate.
“My understanding is that he volunteered in the town of New Hartford as a youth coach in the past, but he has never coached for Northwestern Regional Schools,” LePage said in an email correspondence with the Courant.
“This involved a parent who never coached for our district nor volunteered for our district,” LePage said. “He had offered to volunteer to coach a summer league program, which is not a school-sponsored activity, and we have no connection to that other than our students can choose to participate in it over the summer. This situation and investigation was reported to me by the police over the summer before that parent ever had the opportunity to actually volunteer as a coach to that program, so he didn’t even coach.
“Once I learned of an ongoing investigation, I contacted this parent and told him he couldn’t be involved in coaching our students while an investigation was pending, even though I had no actual authority to require that at that time, since he did not work for our schools,” LePage said. “He agreed that he would not volunteer to coach, and he did not actually coach that program. To be clear, he has no affiliation to our school other than being a parent and a member of our community.
“We are really trying to support and protect the privacy of his family members and others impacted by this unfortunate situation,” LePage continued. “I will reiterate that he has never been a paid employee or volunteer through Northwestern Regional School No. 7.”
When she was reached by investigators, Stimson’s mother allegedly later denied the claims that her son told her he was exchanging inappropriate messages with teenagers, according to the warrant affidavit. She told police he had never explicitly told her he had been “sexting” two of his players but had made comments that could have been interpreted that way, the warrant affidavit said.
When a trooper reached out to the resource officer at Regional School District 7 in Winsted to help get word to Stimson that he should not be coaching until the investigation was completed, the officer said he was already aware of the allegations and that the superintendent informed Stimson he should not be coaching, the warrant affidavit said.
State police also contacted Stimson, who said he was busy dropping off his child and would contact them later, according to the warrant affidavit. Hours later, state police were contacted by an attorney who said Stimson was exercising his right to remain silent, the warrant affidavit said.
During the investigation, state police were able to find correspondences over Snapchat involving one of the girls, which allegedly included a number of photos Stimson had sent, according to the warrant affidavit. The girl claimed that she had a friend take a photo of the correspondences, as the app would have notified Stimson had she taken a screenshot, state police wrote.
In some of the photos, state police alleged that a bulge in the area of Stimson’s groin could be seen, the warrant affidavit said. In another photo, the warrant affidavit said, Stimson allegedly wrote “I know what I’ll be dreaming tonight.” Another photo allegedly showed a pair of shorts and underwear around his ankles, the warrant affidavit said.
State police said Stimson also allegedly sent a number of messages to the teen at one point apologizing for things he had said previously, according to the warrant affidavit.
“I’m sorry for miss reading (sic) things and not understanding you or how to snap with you,” Stimson allegedly messaged one of the teens, the warrant affidavit said. “I just told (the other teen), too. Lines get blurry when I’m snapping with (one of the parent’s) friends and things become gray. Maybe I’ll get back one day but not sure. Either way, I’m very sorry if I offended you. I loved chatting with you, and you will always be my favorite! See you at …”
In another message, Stimson allegedly blamed his behavior on drinking a lot of alcohol recently.
“It also played a part in sending snaps that I regret sending you,” he allegedly wrote, the warrant affidavit said. “Sorry! For what it’s worth I stopped last night. I really think you’re amazing and important to me. I loved being your friend on Snap, I loved when you snapped me. I looked forward to it.
“I would love you to re-add me and I promise you’ll see a better version of me,” Stimson allegedly continued, according to the warrant affidavit. “I’ll snap you based on what you snap me. If I fail again, then unfriend me forever. I’d like to prove that we can be friends without me making ti (sic) weird. If you decide not to, I understand and I’ll have no harsh feelings towards you about it. Maybe it’ll change in (sic) future if you don’t. Regardless, you’ll still have a big place in (sic) heart and be my fav! Hope this doesn’t sound desperate and crazy!”
During a forensic interview with one of the girls, the teen said she added Stimson as a friend on Snapchat sometime between late 2024 or this past spring and that he initially acted “normal” before he allegedly started sending “weird messages” and photos, the warrant affidavit said. She said he also followed her on other social media platforms and liked all of her photos on one of her accounts, according to the warrant. She also alleged that he reposted a photo of her and another teen to one of his accounts, the warrant affidavit said.
During the sport, the girl said, Stimson would approach her and allegedly tell her how good she did and rub her shoulders over her clothes, the warrant affidavit said. The girl also said Stimson would let her run the practice sometimes and allow her do “whatever she wanted, which was different than everyone else on the team,” according to the warrant affidavit.
During one instance, the girl said Stimson allegedly rubbed against her buttocks and said “Oh, sorry.” The girl told investigators “it could have been an accident” but she noted that Stimson was allegedly “acting weird” afterward, the warrant affidavit said.
Another teen who underwent a forensic interview told police Stimson and her had communications on Snapchat similar to those the other girl had detailed for police, according to the warrant affidavit. She also told police he would tell her she looked “pretty” and would send her emoji reactions depicting a face with “heart eyes,” the warrant affidavit said.
The teen also said Stimson would allegedly send her photos showing his legs or groin area and that she often could see his genitals through his pants, according to the warrant affidavit. After sending him a photo showing her face in May in response to a photo Stimson allegedly sent showing his legs, he allegedly replied and told her “can’t send you my legs without sending me yours,” the warrant affidavit said.
The teen also said Stimson would frequently give her hugs and that, when he did, he would allegedly wrap his arms around her lower back, according to the warrant affidavit.
Stimson has not entered a plea to the charges, according to court records. He is next scheduled to appear before a judge on Nov. 4.
