McDowell high school victim testified before former guidance counselor pleads guilty to sex crimes
The mother of a McDowell High School student who was sexually assaulted by a former school counselor spoke directly to a judge after the former counselor pleaded guilty to the abuse.
“Children are off limits. Period. No excuses and no exceptions,” the student’s mother said in court on Thursday.
Jessica Patrick Finley, 31, of Marion, pleaded guilty during the second day of witness testimonies in her criminal trial during McDowell County Superior Court.
Finley
Finley pleaded guilty to nine counts of indecent liberties with a child, seven counts of statutory sex offense with a child age 15 or younger and one count of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
The crimes happened in 2024. The victim was a student and volleyball player at McDowell High. Finley was a guidance counselor and volleyball coach at McDowell High School at the time.
Finley was represented by defense attorneys Chris Rumfelt and Russell Neighbors. Finley entered her plea during the afternoon session of the trial on Thursday.
The morning was spent listening to testimony from the victim and others. Rumfelt said Finley did not want to put the victim through cross-examination and cause the victim more trauma. Rumfelt said Finley also did not want the rest of her text messages with the victim to be read in court, as it would bring more embarrassment.
“I would just like to say I am so sorry for my actions and the things I have caused, for pain I have caused, for the (victim's) family, my family and my own children,” Finley said as she sobbed.
Rumfelt said at the time of the crimes, Finley had a young child and was suffering from postpartum depression. Rumfelt said Finley was also having marital issues.
“This will follow her until the day she (Finley) dies,” Rumfelt said. “She understands that and accepts that.”
Superior Court Judge Gary Gavenus handed down three consecutive sentences that totaled a minimum of 28 years and four months to a maximum of 38 years and ten months in prison. Finley had credit of 778 days for the time she spent in the McDowell County Detention Center while awaiting trial.
When released, Finley will have to register as a sex offender.
Gavenus recommended Finley not be allowed work release while in prison and that she receive psychological counseling. Gavenus ordered Finley to pay a fine of $30,000.
Gavenus ordered Finley to be evaluated. After the evaluation, Finley is to return to court on May 26 to determine if she should be required to wear a satellite tracker device after her release from prison.
Finley will be about 59 years old if she is released from prison after serving the minimum time.
The victim and her family members’ names were not used in this article to protect the victim’s identity.
Victim, law enforcement testify
The victim in this case was the final witness to testify before Finley’s plea. During her testimony, the now 17-year-old read text messages between herself and Finley out loud.
The victim said Finley performed oral sex and digital penetration on her. The victim said Finley would touch her and sometimes would hug her and kiss her on the lips. Finley also had phone sex with the victim on one occasion.
The victim was 14 when she first sought out counseling from Finley. The victim knew Finley because Finley was a volleyball coach and the victim played volleyball. The victim said that she was always anxious but became more anxious during her freshman year of high school. The victim said she would have panic attacks and was severely depressed.
Early in her freshman year, which was the 2023-2024 school year, the victim sought out counseling with Finley.
The victim said at first, she would just talk about her anxiety and depression with Finley. She said as the visits progressed, the relationship turned from counselor and student to more of an equal friendship. Finley began confiding in the victim about her own life and marital problems. The victim said she didn’t mind being confided in at the time.
The victim said at some point, during the fall semester of 2023, Finley initiated sexual contact with her. The victim said she was going to see Finley every day of the school week and would spend most of her time in Finley’s office.
The victim turned 15 in December 2023. The crimes Finley committed occurred between January and February of 2024, Assistant District Attorney Kent Brown said.
Most of the sexual crimes were committed in Finley’s office at McDowell High School, Brown said.
“I am older. I am more mature now,” the victim said. “I realize it was not a good situation. I was seeking help during a time when I felt alone, and she (Finley) took advantage of that.”
The victim said she tried multiple times to stop seeing Finley. The victim said anytime she tried to stop the interactions, Finley would threaten to quit her job or kill herself. The victim said she felt trapped because she did not want to be responsible for Finley’s death.
Shanon Smith was a captain at the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office when Finley’s crimes were reported on Feb. 28, 2024. The victim’s parents found some of Finley’s texts to their daughter and took the phone to the McDowell High School principal. The principal and school resource officer reported the messages to the sheriff’s office.
Smith retired from the sheriff’s office in August 2025.
Smith said Finley was well known to the sheriff’s office, so the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation was called to handle the case. Smith said Finley grew up in the sheriff’s office because her father used to be a deputy before he retired.
Smith also knew Finley's mother because she worked with the McDowell Crimestoppers, he said. Rumfelt said Finley’s mother used to be a probation officer.
The McDowell County Sheriff’s Office’s only involvement in the case was to collect the victim's and Jessica Finley’s cellphones from McDowell High School on Feb. 28, 2024. The cellphones were stored in sealed bags in the sheriff’s office’s evidence room until the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation took possession of the phones on Feb. 29, 2024, Smith said.
McDowell County Schools Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Amy Dowdle also testified on Thursday. Dowdle said she was also called to the school to place Finley on paid administrative leave on Feb. 28, 2024. Finley immediately turned in a written resignation. Dowdle said Finley said she intended to resign for a while but never turned in the letter until that day.
Victim’s family addresses court
The victim’s mother said she hoped Finley’s daughters never meet a person like their mother while they are growing up.
“We would have beat the door hinges off that building to save her from that monster,” the mother said.
Before delivering the sentence, Judge Gavenus asked the mother if she was made aware of what the defense suggested Finley get as a sentence. The sentence Gavenus gave was what the defense recommended. Gavenus asked the mother if she approved of the sentence and she said yes.
The victim’s older sister asked the court to imagine her family and the trust they had that the victim was safe while at school.
“A predator was lurking behind the walls of the counseling office, waiting for a victim,” the sister said.
The sister described the victim as a happy girl and a dedicated athlete. The sister said her family struggled watching those qualities disappear from the victim.
“A day does not go by that we do not wonder what we could have done to prevent this nightmare for my sister,” the older sister said.
Sarah Johnson is the courts and breaking news reporter for the McDowell News.
