For the first time, we are hearing from parents of a victim who received inappropriate communications from a Jacksonville teacher.
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James Rankin Johnson was arrested in 2021 and is now in jail. The parents have an ongoing lawsuit against him and the school where he worked, New Beginnings Christian Academy.
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They are now speaking out in the hope that they can help other parents.
“It has crushed me, it has crushed our whole lives,” said the victim’s father, Billy Cockman.
Lisa Rankin and Billy Cockman say it has devastated their family. Their 16-year-old daughter, AC, was 11 when she and James Rankin Johnson were alone at school and had inappropriate phone conversations.
“This is a 70-year-old man and an 11-year-old with special needs,” Cockman said. “She’s thinking, this is my boyfriend, he’s going to take care of me for the rest of my life.”
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Rankin and Cockman say they chose to send AC to New Beginnings Christian Academy because the private school specializes in helping children with special needs. AC is deaf in one ear and autistic.
They say Johnson was not her teacher, but AC said she enjoyed visiting his therapy dog. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrest report reveals that Johnson texted her, telling her he “loved her,” calling her babe and asking if she was alone.
“People hear about this happening all the time on the news and this arrest and that arrest, but no one ever really talks about how it affects these kids in the long run,” Rankin said as tears began to well up in her eyes. “And here I am, four years later, telling you that it has devastated our lives, and she’s come a long way, and I’m grateful for the progress she’s made.”
Johnson was arrested in 2021 on charges of sexually abusing a child under the age of 12, but he only pleaded guilty and was convicted by law enforcement of crimes against students.
The text messages between Johnson and the victim helped prosecutors prove that. AC did not testify in the criminal case and the sexual assault charges against him were dropped.
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Rankin and Cockman have now filed a civil complaint against Johnson and the school, seeking financial damages for negligence.
“This occurred during school hours on school grounds by a school resource officer,” Rankin said. “They apparently intentionally sent her to this adult teacher alone.”
Rankin and Cockman said the situation became so bad that AC harmed herself and tried to end her life.
“It destroyed her and she will never be the same,” Rankin said.
A court document shows that the school’s attorneys denied most of the allegations but agreed to a jury trial, which was originally scheduled for last month but was postponed.
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Now Rankin and Cockman are speaking out in hopes of helping other parents and encouraging them to monitor their children’s phones.
“I always felt like I was invading my privacy or something, that I was being nosy or being an overprotective parent,” Rankin said. “But I wish, I wish I had.”
Action News Jax reached out to the school and its attorneys this afternoon, but we have not heard back. We understand it is the day before a holiday.
State prison records show Johnson is expected to be released in September.
Because AC said she was afraid to see him again, Rankin had her daughter move to another state.
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