DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — A former Triad pastor will spend five to six years in prison for engaging in sex acts with a former student.
A jury found Jason Wesley Keller, 45, of Pfafftown, guilty of multiple felony counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. The victim was 17 years old. Keller will be on supervised probation for years after he’s released from prison.
Police arrested Keller in 2019 for crimes he committed in 2008 while he was the elementary school principal and assistant principal at Union Grove Christian School in Lexington.
Court documents said he had sex multiple times with a 17-year-old student. Documents revealed the woman re-reported the crime years later, after initially not wanting to press charges. At the time, Keller was also a pastor at Freedom Family Church in Liberty.
Church leaders sent WFMY News 2 the following statement:
“While Freedom Family Church continues to love and support Jason’s wife and children, he no longer is employed by our congregation. We have no further comment at this time.”
Keller was also a member of Modern Woodmen of America. A representative said they fired him in 2019.
WFMY News 2’s Arielle Cadet also exchanged messages with the victim. She’s now 31. She said she feels a huge sense of relief now that Keller was found guilty.
She said it took a long time for her to speak up about what happened, but she’s glad she did and now wants to use her voice to help others who might be going through something similar.
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