MIAMI – A Miami-Dade County jury found a former Miami Palmetto Senior High School teacher guilty on Friday of sexual crimes against a former student.
The former student reported she was 17 years old when Jason Meyers was her English teacher and the crimes happened in the classroom in 2015.
“The past seven years have been difficult. It has consumed most of my life, and I’m really grateful to close this chapter,” the victim, now 24 years old, said her voice breaking.
Meyers was convicted of all three counts of sexual activity with a minor by a person in custodial authority.
Despite his attorneys’ request to keep him out on bond, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cristina Miranda, who presided over the case, ordered Meyers to wait for his sentencing in jail.
Meyers took off his gray suit jacket and tie. His defense attorney Bradley Horenstein hugged him. Corrections officers collected his fingerprints and handcuffed him.
Meyers had time to blow a kiss and mouthed “I love you” as corrections officers escorted him out of the courtroom. His wife, Kimberley Meyers, also a teacher at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, sobbed loudly. She was a witness for the defense.
Prosecutors had filed the case against Meyers on Feb. 19, 2016, and he pleaded not guilty on March 9, 2016. Two of his victims testified during the trial, prosecutors said.
During his 14-year career with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Meyers also taught English at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School.
In a related 2019 civil case, a federal jury ordered the Miami-Dade School Board to pay $6 million in damages. The case included reports of alleged sex crimes at both schools and a reference to his victims as “Jason’s Girls.”
Horenstein vowed to appeal the criminal case.