Former Natrona County School District Tutor Admits Sex Abuse

A former Natrona County School District faculty member admitted to sexually abusing a girl in July 2016.

Jason G. Waugaman pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse of a minor in Natrona County District Court Thursday afternoon. Waugaman appeared via video conference.

Waugaman accepted a plea agreement that would have him serve six to 12 years behind bars. Two second-degree sexual abuse of a minor charges were dropped.

At the time of the incident, Waugaman was 33-years-old. The victim was born in 2001.

Though court documents state Waugaman and the girl had sex, he did not explicitly admit that in court Thursday.

"The victim and I had an online sexual relationship," Waugaman said. He also admitted to inappropriately touching the girl through her clothing.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, the alleged abuse occurred in 2016 with a victim between the ages of 13 and 15. Waugaman was a substitute teacher in the girl's class at the time. The two began communicating on a social media site before Waugaman began making sexual comments, the affidavit says.

Eventually, the girl sneaked out of her apartment where Waugaman met her. They drove to a nearby parking lot and had sex, the affidavit says. They continued communicating on the social media site.

The alleged victim came forward last month and detectives asked her if she'd be willing to reestablish contact with Waugaman to continue the investigation. The alleged victim showed a detective the texts from the conversation in which Waugaman indicated he enjoyed the alleged 2016 encounter, the affidavit says.

The Natrona County School District announced Waugaman was terminated in the weeks after his arrest last month. 

He was previously employed by the school district as a substitute teacher, a part-time teacher at Dean Morgan Junior High School, and a speech and debate activity sponsor at Kelly Walsh High School.

Waugaman remains free on bond pending his sentencing hearing.