Former Kings Canyon Unified teacher to stand trial for sex crimes against student

Nearly three years after a former Kings Canyon Unified teacher was arrested for sexually abusing a student, a judge ruled she would head to trial.

Wednesday morning, Krystal Jackson sat in Fresno County Superior Court often looking down at the table in front of her or to her defense attorney as investigators presented cell phone evidence in the case.

Jackson is accused of four felony sex crimes involving a student who was 14 years old.

Detectives learned the boy was part of an independent study program at Mountain View School and would meet with Jackson weekly at Dunlap Leadership Academy.

They said Jackson sexually assaulted the boy during those meetings.

On Wednesday, detectives testified to what they found on the victim's phones in their investigation.

"The allegation was he had received a picture of a pregnancy test," said Det. Jose Leon, Fresno County Sheriff's Office. "When I received the initial extraction from Post Falls Police Department, there was in fact a picture of a pregnancy test. As far as determining if that one came from her cell phone, that's something one of the forensic examiners might be better suited to answer."

Another investigator described what he found after data was pulled from Jackson's phone, saying there was proof she had wiped her phone on August 22, 2021, just days before she was arrested in early September.

"You can factory reset your phone, as if you're handing it off to somebody that you don't know, you don't want your information to be on it," said Walden O'Neill, Investigator Fresno County DA. "You can do that to take all of your information off of the device."

Minutes after the wipe, the investigator reported the phone was restored from a prior backup.

Jackson remains out on bond and is due back in court on August 21. She faces five years and four months in prison if convicted on all charges.

For news updates, follow Kate Nemarich on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .