A Waynesville area private school teacher who was also a former youth minister was recently arrested on indecent liberties charges tied to a 2016 alleged incident.

EVAN JORDAN JENSEN

Evan Jordan Jensen, age 30, was arrested on Feb. 2 and was charged with one felony count of indecent liberties with a child.

Jensen was released on a $20,000 secured bond on the same day he was arrested. His next court appearance is on Feb. 9.

Court records show the alleged crime happened on Jan. 1, 2016. Records do not indicate where the incident happened, but documents state the alleged crime involved “a child under the age of 16 at the time” and state Jensen, an adult, was at least five years older than the victim at the time.

He was issued a $20,000 secured bond. Jensen bonded out of custody on the same day he was arrested, according to records on file with the Macon County Sheriff’s Office.

The Special Victims Unit of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office was investigating sexual misconduct complaint that resulted in Jensen’s arrest. At some point during their investigation, detectives became aware that Jensen was a current school employee working in Haywood County and had been a former youth pastor at First Alliance Church, located in Macon County.

Macon County Sheriff Brent Holbrooks said that since the alleged incident took place several years ago, they need to be thorough in continuing the investigation.

Jensen had been employed at Haywood Christian Academy, a private school in Waynesville, at the time of his arrest. The school has indicated that Jensen is no longer an employee but has not issued a formal statement.

The school’s staff directory listed Jensen’s title as “middle and high school science educator.” His profile was removed from the academy’s website sometime on Feb. 2. Captures of the staff directory from December 2022 do not list Jensen as a staff member.

There is no NC teaching license on file with the state for Jensen.