A North Carolina high school guidance counselor who sexually abused an underage girl after she sought help for anxiety has been sentenced to decades in prison.
Jessica Patrick Finley, 31, was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years and four months and a maximum of 40 years and six months after pleading guilty to six counts of statutory sex offense with a child, eight counts of indecent liberties with a child, one count of sex act with a student and offenses involving a child under the age of 15, according to a press release from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
Authorities said the case began in February 2024 after the parents of a 14-year-old student discovered text messages between their daughter and Finley and reported them to school officials.
Investigators later determined that Finley — who worked as both a guidance counselor and volleyball coach at McDowell High School — had engaged in inappropriate communications with the student, according to WLOS, FOX Carolina and McDowell News.
Search warrants cited by WLOS allege the relationship escalated into sexual contact, including incidents inside Finley’s school office, and that the two discussed those encounters over text messages.
The warrants also state that Finley told the student she would leave her husband and children to be with her, according to the outlet.
Finley resigned from McDowell County Schools in February 2024 following the allegations, according to the press release.
She later declined a plea agreement in April 2025 and requested a reduced bond, which was denied in August 2025, according to FOX Carolina and WLOS.
Finley pleaded guilty on April 16 in McDowell County Superior Court after testimony had already begun, according to McDowell News.
During the proceedings, the victim — now 17 — described how she initially sought counseling for anxiety and depression before her relationship with Finley changed.
“I was seeking help during a time when I felt alone, and she took advantage of that,” the teen said in court, according to McDowell News.
“A predator was lurking behind the walls of the counseling office, waiting for a victim,” the teen’s sister said in court.
The teen also testified that she felt unable to end contact because Finley threatened to harm herself.
During the sentencing hearing, the victim’s mother told the court, “Children are off limits. Period. No excuses and no exceptions.”
Finley, who had been held in custody for more than two years before sentencing, received credit for 778 days already served, according to McDowell News. She will be required to register as a sex offender upon release.
In a statement to the court, Finley apologized, saying she was “so sorry for my actions and the things I have caused, for the pain I have caused.”
A judge also ordered a psychological evaluation and scheduled a future hearing to determine whether Finley will be required to wear a satellite monitoring device after her release, the outlet reported.
All these predators working in school districts. This is why so many schools are so dysfunctional because they employ these lefties who are often already messed up and the just find a ‘safe space’ to do their deeds.