Facebook is a rough place for men with a history of girls these days.
Such is the case with Jake Magoon, the Alaska Democratic Party chair for District 10, Wasilla, and the Mat-Su Democrats.
Magoon has been involved with the Alaska Democratic Party for some time, rising to leadership in his district, and excited about the potential of turning the Mat-Su Valley blue.
Magoon is also a math tutor.
Two nights ago, a woman who has known him for several years took to Facebook and called him a … well, if true, it’s quite serious.
She writes about what happened between her, her friend, and Magoon, when she was 15. She says that now that he is getting to be more powerful, she wants to warn others. She thinks he could use his power to take advantage of other girls.
And Brea Erwin goes into great detail in her allegation. Don’t worry, she told Must Read Alaska: She has text messages saved that back up her story.
Here is part of the accusation that has now been on Facebook for two days and has been shared over 20 times:
“When I was 15, Jake met my best friend at the time and I at a high school party. He proceeded to come to my friend’s house with us after the party, We were 14 and 15.
Jake was 23 years old.
We proceeded to talk about our lives and aspirations until he had each of us laying at his sides, with our heads resting on his chest. He would then slyly grope either of us when he thought the other was unaware. Let it be known that we both disclosed our ages from the beginning.
After that night he had a secret relationship with my best friend. They would go on dates, but limit public displays of affection. Admittedly, I was a bit jealous. Even more so, I was naive. I was unable to process that we were children and that this GROWN MAN was grooming and …”
Readers will understand why the rest is not included here. Erwin describes a specific set of events that are damning and illegal. Magoon is accused of what is a felony. He has not been charged in a court of law — these are allegations made in social media at this time.
Magoon apparently says it is not so, that he never had sex with the girl and once he found out how old she was, he cut off the relationship.
A partial clip of his response to these charges was posted on Facebook by Erwin:
That’s a denial, but also nearly a partial admission. Erwin says that she and her friend were not at the age when they could have given consent, and it’s a secret that she held for years. Others wondered on the Facebook feed how this man was even at a high school party.
But then, another woman came forward on Facebook and said similar things happened to her with Magoon. And other women chimed in, saying he was a creep, and more.
Must Read Alaska has reached out to the original complainant to better understand the circumstances. She said she stands by her claim and that her documentation will hold up to scrutiny.
A MORAL AND POLITICAL DILEMMA
What will the Alaska Democratic Party do with Magoon? It’s own executive director, Jay Parmley, had a history of public complaints of sexual harassment before he was even hired by the party. And yet they hired him anyway. The party called for the resignation of Rep. Dean Westlake after allegations that had been known for years finally were made public. Party leaders sat on those stories until they were forced into the open.
And a woman who used to work for the party has claimed that party leaders made her work alongside a man who had sexually assaulted her. That story is covered, in part, here.
Casey Steinau, chair of the Alaska Democratic Party, will likely have to call a meeting of the executive committee and decide if Magoon stays or goes. If Magoon says he is innocent, will the party stick by this hard-working activist?
And what of the children whom he tutors? One fledgling tutoring company in the Mat-Su has already spoken on Facebook to distance itself from Magoon. Scott Maxwell wrote:
Hi, i’m the owner of record for Northern Lights Tutoring LLC. That was a business name I registered in September but never did anything with, so i’m closing it up. Jake was involved when we first registered, but that’s about it, so any tutoring he might have done was not on the company’s behalf. Obviously, trust and safety are non-negotiables when working with young people, and I do not want to be associated with anyone who would abuse that trust, especially not like this.
To those sharing their stories – I believe you, and i’m sorry that any of this happened to you.
None of this is how Magoon sees himself. In his LinkedIn profile, he is a model citizen who describes his work with the Mat-Su Democrats with pride, and sees himself as someone who volunteers for everything.
Magoon is normally active on Facebook, but has not posted anything for several days. Must Read Alaska has left a message with him seeking comment.