A former high school teacher in Columbus has admitted to engaging in an unlawful relationship with a 15-year-old student following months of inappropriate contact.
Jamelah Daboubi, 28, who previously worked at Horizon Science Academy, pleaded guilty last month in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to charges of gross sexual imposition and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to court documents.
The case came to light in April 2025 after the student’s aunt reportedly discovered the teacher and the teenager engaging in inappropriate acts inside her car. The incident prompted authorities to launch an investigation.
According to prosecutors, the 10th-grade student told police that he and the teacher had been involved in a relationship over several months. During that time, they allegedly exchanged thousands of text messages, many of which expressed strong personal and emotional attachment.
Investigators later examined the student’s phone and confirmed the volume of messages between the two, which formed part of the evidence in the case.
Following her arrest, Daboubi was dismissed from her teaching position. She was initially charged with two counts of sexual battery, but those charges were later amended by prosecutors as the case progressed.
She is expected to be sentenced at a later date and could face up to 18 months in prison. In addition, the court has recommended that she serve five years of community control, undergo counseling, perform community service, surrender her teaching license, and register as a sex offender.
