Asheville Christian Academy Coach Avoids Jail After Guilty Plea in Student Sexual Misconduct; School Faces Lawsuit Alleging Cover-Up
Samuel Jason Ingle sentenced to probation and sex offender registration; civil suit claims staff negligence enabled grooming and abuse of 18-year-old female student
December 19, 2025 - FOX Carolina/Gray News
BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. — In Buncombe County, North Carolina, 53-year-old Samuel Jason Ingle, a former coach and "Dean of Spiritual Formation" at the private Asheville Christian Academy, pleaded guilty in December 2025 to misdemeanor sexual battery charges involving sexual misconduct with an 18-year-old female student. The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office investigated reports of inappropriate conduct starting in early 2024, leading to Ingle's arrests on felony charges (including sex acts with a student) before the case resolved with reduced misdemeanors. Ingle received a suspended 120-day sentence, 18 months of supervised probation, and a 30-year sex offender registration requirement, avoiding jail time. District Attorney Todd Williams stated, “By securing this plea and the accompanying 30-year registration requirement, we are ensuring both accountability for the defendant and long-term notification for the community.”
The misconduct allegedly involved grooming over months, including private meetings, early morning workouts, time alone in Ingle's office with doors closed and lights out, and incidents in his car, culminating in sexual acts. Despite the victim being 18 during the senior-year incidents, the case highlighted Ingle's position of authority at the Christian school.
A civil lawsuit filed in January 2025 by the victim (as "Jane Doe") accuses Asheville Christian Academy and staff of negligence and cover-up. Defendants include the school, Ingle, former head William George, Taylor Bell (director of social, emotional and spiritual care), Wade Tapp (former associate head), and Alexis Zanias (former teacher). The suit claims staff ignored warnings—like a fall 2023 report of Ingle's "inappropriate sexual feelings" and a Greece trip journal entry describing kissing—allegedly downplaying concerns or destroying evidence. It states staff "unconscionably allowed this egregious and outrageous conduct to continue without taking any steps to report, intervene, investigate, discipline, pursue criminal charges, stop the grooming, abuse and exploitation," or protect the plaintiff. As of late 2025, the lawsuit remains ongoing.
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