Nightmares still haunt victim 16 years after sex assault by a trusted coach

IOWA CITY — A woman said Monday she has not been able to let go of the “damage and trauma” caused by her former softball coach who sexually assaulted her 16 years ago.

“I take medication every day to just get out of bed because of my depression and anxiety,” the woman, crying at times, said Monday in her victim impact statement during the sentencing of James Anthony White, 60, of North Liberty.

White, originally charged with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and two counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee, pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree sexual abuse and enticing a minor away with intent to assault.

During a plea hearing in November, White admitted to sexually assaulting the victim when she was 14 and 15 years old, from January 2006 through December 2007. He also admitted to enticing away the victim with intent to commit assault.

The woman, who was a student of White’s during the 2006-07 school year and was coached by him on the Clear Creek Amana High School softball team, told police in March 2022 about the sexual abuse incidents, according to a criminal complaint.

During her statement Monday, she said she still has nightmares of his hands on her body and the things he would say to her as he was sexually abusing the 15-year-old girl, who had dreams of playing Division 1 college softball and possibly playing professional ball some day. The “resentment, shame and anger” she felt toward White made her leave her softball dreams behind, she said.

“I lost my very first love — the game of softball — because of what Jim White did to me.”

The woman said she earned a college scholarship and tried to bury her anger and resentment but she couldn’t do it. She had to give up her scholarship and took on heavy school debt to take back “control of my life” and work on her mental health.

It also damaged her relationship with her parents when they incurred debt because they had to take out loans for her to go to college and play softball, so she could pursue her dream. Instead of telling her parents, she pushed them away because she didn’t have the courage to tell them what happened to her in high school.

This led to further isolation and depression for the young woman. She was fearful and confused and pushed everyone away to hold onto the “secret to protect” White and the successful softball program he had built at Clear Creek Amana High School.

“I was failed by the adults around me to keep me safe,” she said. “After the original outcry was made to the school district in 2006, students continued to tease me and the faculty just treated me like a problem and they wanted it to go away. No child should ever feel like that and I pray they never have to again.”

The woman said she was revictimized online in November by people who didn’t want to accept what White had done and that he was pleading guilty.

“That is why I am here today to tell my truth, get one step closer to closure and to heal out loud for my daughter and myself,” the woman said. “I feel that I can leave here confidently knowing I did not remain silent and I did the right thing. Thank you for everyone that has been here to help me along the way and believing me after all these years.”

White declined to make a statement during his sentencing.

Sixth Judicial District Judge David Cox followed the plea agreement and sentenced White to a suspended sentence of the 10- and five-year prison sentences and ordered him to serve three years of probation.

White, as part of the sentence, also must comply with the requirements of the sex offender registry and be on a special sentence of parole for life. A no-contact order to protect the victim also was extended for five years.

Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith said she was “grateful” for the victim’s “incredible courage” to come forward about her sexual assault.

“Because of her bravery and the dedication of Detective Sgt. Tyler Schneider and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and assistant county attorneys Michael Lang and Haley Huddleston, the defendant is being held accountable.”

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White was a teacher and softball coach at Clear Creek Amana for several years before leaving in 2012 to coach at Solon High School. He coached softball at Solon until 2017, then returned as an assistant baseball coach for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

His contract at Solon ended the summer of 2022, according to Solon school district Superintendent Davis Eidahl.

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