ASHLAND – A former Magoffin County High School teacher was sentenced this week to 17 years in prison, 20 years probation and must register as a sex offender.
In federal court on Monday, August 10, Jason W. Back, 44, of Salyersville, was sentenced by District Judge David L. Bunning on one count of online enticement, which he had pleaded guilty to back in January this year via a plea deal.
In total, Back was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 204 months, during which the court recommended to the Bureau of prisons that he participate in a sex offender treatment program, substance abuse treatment program, mental health program, job skills and/or vocational training program and that he be designated to the Federal Correction Institution in Ashland.
At press time, Back is in custody of United States Marshal at the Boyd County Detention Center.
After his release from prison, he must serve 20 years of supervised release and must comply with the requirements of the Sex Offender Registration.
In his plea deal, Back admitted to knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing an individual under the age of 18 to engage in unlawful sexual activity; he used a means or facility of interstate commerce to do so (i.e. a cell phone and/or online messaging); and that he knew the individual was under the age of 18.
The plea agreement states that from between March 6 through 9, 2023, in Magoffin County, Back persuaded the minor to engage in sexual activity, specifying that he was a high school teacher when he engaged in a text message conversation with a 17-year-old student, sending a series of sexually explicit messages using his iPhone, including messages outline a plan to meet for unprotected sex on March 9, 2023. According to the plea agreement, the prosecution has evidence that shows Back picked up the minor and that the two had sexual intercourse in Back’s car.
The plea agreement also indicated that, through a pattern of messages sent by Back, who was in a position of authority or special trust as a teacher, enticed the minor to engage in sexual intercourse, which would constitute a charge of third-degree rape.
Back still has an open state-level case, in which he was indicted in by a Magoffin County grand jury in March 2025 and charged with two counts of third-degree rape (Class D felonies), third-degree sodomy (Class D felony), and two counts of procuring or promoting the use of a minor by electronic means (Class D felonies). A pretrial conference in the local case is set for August 20 at 10 a.m. in the Magoffin County Justice Center. The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting Back’s local case.
Editor’s Note: The indictment or charge of a person by a grand jury or otherwise is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
