A former Faith Academy Bible teacher and soccer coach accused of having sex with a student will go on trial March 30.
Jonathan Daniel Sauers, 47, of Semmes, is charged with “school employee engaging in a sex act with a student under 19” and “school employee engaging in sexual contact with a student under 19.”
Prosecutors accused Sauers of having a relationship with a student at the private school in Mobile.
According to court filings, the 16-year-old’s parents reported her missing from Walmart in 2023. Her car was there, but she was nowhere to be found.
The teen eventually returned to her car after an hour and a half. The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office alleges Sauers picked her up at Walmart and drove her to a nearby location where they engaged in sexual contact.
When investigators questioned the girl, she admitted to having a sexual relationship with the teacher for several months, prosecutors say.
Sauers was immediately fired from Faith Academy.
In February, Sauers refused to accept a plea deal. The trial will begin at 9 a.m. with jury selection. Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Wesley Pipes is presiding.
Sauers is considered innocent until proven guilty.
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