A former band director at Bonita Vista High School pleaded guilty Dec. 29 to committing oral copulation and penetration with a foreign object upon a 16-year-old boy in 2010.
Jason Jerome Mangan, 38, entered his guilty pleas just days before the victim would have testified against him in Chula Vista Superior Court. The Jan. 4 preliminary hearing was canceled.
Eleven other related sex charges were dismissed after he admitted to committing two sexual acts with a minor. Judge Francis Devaney set sentencing for Feb. 24.
Mangan faces a sentencing range of probation with little or no jail time to three years and eight months in state prison, said Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Matzger.
Additionally, Mangan will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He will be unable to teach minors because of his felony convictions.
Matzger said had Mangan been convicted of all charges at trial, he would have faced 11 years in prison.
Mangan was a popular band director and music teacher at the Chula Vista school since 2006. He left his position at the school and a new band director started on Sept. 2.
The victim, who is believed to be now 22 years old, told authorities earlier this year about the alleged incidents between him and Mangan when he was between 15 and 17 years old. They were alleged to have occurred in offices at the band room or in his home in 2010 and 2011.
His attorney could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for the Sweetwater Union High School District said earlier he could not comment on Mangan’s employment as it was a personnel issue.
Mangan remains free on $325,000 bond.
