A former Horizon Science Academy teacher has pleaded guilty to amended sex-crime charges in a case involving a 15-year-old student, nearly a year after police were called to a Columbus home where a family member reported finding the pair together in the teacher’s car.
The plea matters now because it moves a closely watched school misconduct case from accusation to conviction-level admissions while leaving sentencing still to come. Jamelah Daboubi, now 28, admitted guilt to gross sexual imposition and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor after prosecutors first brought sexual battery charges tied to her role as the boy’s teacher. The immediate stakes include possible jail time, sex-offender registration, the loss of her teaching license and a final court ruling on whether the recommended sentence will be accepted.
The public timeline starts on April 2, 2025, when police were called to a home on Salado Creek Drive in Columbus after a woman with guardianship of the boy reported that he was missing and that his teacher’s car was outside the residence. Court records and later statements from prosecutors said the woman approached the vehicle and found Daboubi with the 15-year-old in the front passenger area. Officers who responded spoke with the teen, who said he and Daboubi had been involved in an inappropriate relationship that included kissing and touching. The next day, according to prosecutors, a forensic interview added more detail and pointed investigators toward the student’s phone. By then, the case had already moved from a family discovery to a criminal investigation. In a later letter to the school community, administrators said, “The school took swift and appropriate action,” after learning of the allegation.
Investigators said the phone evidence became one of the central pieces of the case. The Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office said officers found hundreds of phone calls and thousands of text messages between the student and Daboubi, including messages in which the two professed love for each other. Prosecutors also said the boy was one of Daboubi’s students in a 10th grade class at Horizon Science Academy. Those details later formed the backbone of a grand jury indictment returned on June 27, 2025, charging Daboubi with sexual battery. Her arraignment was scheduled for July 11, and the case then continued through pretrial proceedings before shifting this year through a plea agreement. What is not clear from the public reports is exactly when the relationship began, how often the pair met in person beyond the April encounter, or why prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed to amend the original charges before the guilty plea.
The school’s response became an important part of the public record because it showed how administrators tried to address the case while the criminal process unfolded. Local television stations reported that Horizon Science Academy sent a letter dated April 21, 2025, to families and staff. In that letter, the school referred to Daboubi as a “now-former staff member,” said she had first been placed on administrative leave and then was no longer employed, and said there was nothing at that point to indicate she had a relationship with any other students. The school also urged people not to spread rumors, saying the administration wanted to protect students and support those affected. That response did not settle the legal questions, but it did clarify that the school had separated from Daboubi well before the indictment was returned. Public reporting reviewed Saturday did not include any statement from Daboubi or a defense lawyer responding in detail to the accusations or explaining the plea.
By the time the case reached Franklin County Common Pleas Court this year, the focus had shifted from whether prosecutors could file charges to what resolution both sides would accept. Reports on the plea said Daboubi admitted guilt in February 2026 to amended charges of gross sexual imposition and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Those offenses carry a combined maximum sentence of 18 months in prison under the plea terms described in local coverage. The court also recommended five years of community control, continued counseling, community service and the permanent surrender of Daboubi’s teaching license. Another major consequence will follow outside any jail sentence. The plea requires Daboubi to register as a Tier II sex offender, a classification that in Franklin County requires in-person verification every 180 days for 25 years. Local reports said sentencing had been continued, but the stories reviewed Saturday did not list a new hearing date.
The case has drawn attention in Columbus because of the setting and the way it surfaced. It did not begin with a long public inquiry or a school audit. It began with a relative looking for a missing teenager during spring break, spotting a familiar car and walking up to it. From there, the case moved through a forensic interview, phone records, an arrest, an indictment and finally a plea. Local reports from May 2025 said Daboubi was arrested and that her bond was set at more than $15,000. The school’s letter tried to reassure families as anxiety spread through the community. “We recognize that situations like this can be upsetting,” administrators wrote, adding that they were working to uphold “the safety and integrity of our learning environment.” Those lines captured the public strain around the case: a criminal prosecution centered on one teacher and one student, but a wider disruption felt by classmates, relatives and a school community left waiting for the court process to catch up with what had already happened.
As of Sunday, the case stood at the sentencing stage, with Daboubi having admitted guilt to the amended charges and the court still needing to decide the final punishment. The next milestone is a rescheduled sentencing hearing, though no new date was included in the public reports reviewed this weekend.
Author note: Last updated March 22, 2026.