School volunteer charged with child sex crimes bonds out of jail

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A volunteer at a private school in Jefferson City who is accused of multiple child sex crimes has bonded out of jail.

Jennifer Cecil, 41, is charged with first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree statutory rape, second-degree statutory sodomy and having sexual contact with a student. An arraignment was waived Friday and a bond hearing was held.

Cecil – who was a parent volunteer at Lighthouse Preparatory Academy – appeared in court by video from the Cole County Jail and pleaded not guilty. She was initially held without bond, but it was set to $15,000 at the bond hearing.

She was released on bond with pretrial conditions, and will have to be equipped with GPS monitoring, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is set for 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10.

The victim allegedly told law enforcement that Cecil had sexual contact with him from December through July and that Cecil initiated the relationship, according to court documents.

The victim also said the two communicated through Instagram and exchanged explicit images, according to investigators. The victim’s parents confronted Cecil and her husband about the assaults and Cecil allegedly confessed to them, according to the probable cause statement.

Lighthouse Preparatory Academy said in a Thursday press release that it has launched an internal investigation and that it is fully cooperating with law enforcement