Former Bremerton school volunteer gets 41 years for sexual assaults

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. (AP) — A former Bremerton School District volunteer convicted of sexually assaulting five girls he baby-sat has been sentenced to over 41 years in prison.

The Kitsap Sun reports 53-year-old Stephen Jabs maintained his innocence before Kitsap Superior Court Judge Kevin Hull handed down the sentence Friday.

The Bremerton School District said in a statement that Jabs volunteered at Crownhill Elementary School and West Hills STEM Academy. No sexual assaults were alleged to have occurred at the schools and he was dismissed after his arrest.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Cami Lewis asked for the sentence, noting it was well above the standard range maximum of 26 years but jurors had found Jabs guilty of five counts of first-degree rape of a child and five counts of first-degree child molestation.

Jabs will appeal the verdict.