Detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 23, 2024, met with Onalaska Police Chief John Dunaway to investigate an alleged inappropriate relationship between a male teacher employed at Hardin ISD and a female student enrolled in a Polk County school district.
According to a statement from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the case was assigned to Detective Lieutenant Craig Finegan of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division.
Following interviews with both the student and the teacher, authorities determined that the teacher had picked up the student and taken her to a location in Polk County, where he allegedly engaged in sexual acts with her in the back of his vehicle before returning her home.
As a result of the investigation, an arrest warrant for 39-year-old Jahmall Le’Sean Thomas of Dayton, Texas, was issued. Thomas now faces a charge of sexual assault of a minor. Polk County Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace Teri Mayer authorized the warrant.
On Sept. 3, 2024, Thomas was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail, with bond set at $75,000. Hardin ISD has placed Thomas on administrative leave following his arrest.
Lieutenant Finegan is asking any parents with additional information related to Jahmall Thomas to contact him at 936-329-9028.