Former Jay High Contract Employee Charged With Sex Offense For Messages Sent To A Student

September 25, 2025

A contract groundskeeper at Jay High School has been charged with a felony sex offense for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to a student.

Kevin Ross Dunning, 52, of Jay, was charged with being an authority figure soliciting or engaging in a romantic relationship with a student. He remained in the Santa Rosa County Jail.

A 15-year-old Jay High student told Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies that she accepted a Facebook friend request sent to her by Dunning, and she recognized him from Jay Elementary where he had worked as a janitor.

Dunning, a contract employee for ABM, was fired on September 9 when the allegations came to light.

“Her previous interactions with him consisted only of casual ‘fist bump’ greetings in passing,” the arrest report states.

Investigators said the girl said that Dunning began to send her private messages using Facebook Messenger. She told deputies that she responded at first “out of politeness but later grew uncomfortable as the messages became more personal and inappropriate.”

Deputies reviewed the Facebook messages. The messages, according to the arrest report, included:

  • “I want to hug u but might get in trouble.”
  • “I wish I was in high school cause I would have to ask u out.”
  • “Sneak off an do some crazy stuff.”
  • “Boy an girl stuff.”
  • “oh ok well if I was your boyfriend I would have to keep you forever.”
  • “If I was your age I would have to keep u as a girlfriend an not cheat.”
  • “U r a gorgeous looking lady.”
  • “It would have been better if I could have seen u.”
  • “Well guess I will let u go luv ya have a good night hopefully I will c you Tuesday.”

Dunning admitted to deputies that he communicated with the girl, but asserted that the messages were not sexual in nature, according to the arrest report. He told deputies that he had known the girl since she was in sixth grade.

“Dunning stated she was the only person who was nice to him and helped him pick up garbage,” the report states.

In a statement, the Santa Rosa County School District said: “Santa Rosa County District Schools acted swiftly to ensure this individual was no longer employed or present on any district campus and referred this matter to state agencies and local law enforcement. We are working closely with ABM and law enforcement to ensure all appropriate actions are taken. The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority. As this is an active law enforcement matter, further inquiries should be directed to the appropriate authorities.”

ABM said in a released statement: “The safety of the students, clients, and communities we serve is of the utmost importance and we have a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate conduct of any kind. The individual underwent and cleared the required background checks. He is no longer employed with our company.”

Comments

One Response to “Former Jay High Contract Employee Charged With Sex Offense For Messages Sent To A Student”

  1. JTV on September 25th, 2025 9:05 am

    Zero Tolerance for Child Predator. Remove from society and cage up.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News