A North Carolina high school counselor and volleyball coach faced up to 40 years of imprisonment upon pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student she was tasked to assist with anxiety issues.
Jessica Patrick Finley, an employee of McDowell High School based in Marion, was charged with several severe sexual crimes against a minor in the superior court. These include six statutory sex offenses with a child, eight indecent liberties with a child, sex act with a student, and offenses with a child under 15 years old, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
According to a court ruling, Jessica Patrick Finley received a jail term of no less than 28 years and 4 months and no more than 40 years and 6 months.
The investigation report reveals that Finley groomed the teenager during the 2023-24 school year through improper interactions before advancing to sexual engagements. According to the prosecutor, some of the sexual misconduct cases happened even after the student turned 15. Some of the sexual assaults were carried out in Finley’s office in the same school, where the minor sought counseling services.
The court filing by local TV station WLOS shows that the affair involved text exchanges concerning sexual encounters and plans for future sex acts. Finley also confessed to planning to divorce her husband and children to pursue the teen, per court documents.
The affair was exposed after the minor’s parents stumbled upon the inappropriate texts and filed a case with the authorities. Finley quit her position at McDowell County Schools in February 2024.
The defendant was called a predator who “lurked within the walls of the counseling office waiting for a victim” by the victim’s sister during victim impact statements. Additionally, the victim’s mother stated that her family would have “beat the door hinges off that building to protect our daughter” if they had known about their child’s predicament earlier.
Finley had opposed a plea agreement reached between her attorney and prosecutors in April 2025 and attempted to reduce her bond. The plea agreement was rejected, and she pled guilty to all charges on Thursday.
The investigation was triggered by the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office and handled by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
