A cab driver working for a company that provided transportation services for Springfield Local Schools faces up to 104 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 13 felony charges of sex crimes involving children.
Jason M. Sweet, 44, of Providence Township, pleaded guilty Monday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to nine counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person and four counts of illegal use of a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance. All 13 charges are second-degree felonies.
According to the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office, the school district had a contract with Black & White Transportation to provide children rides home in certain circumstances.
In September, while giving three children a ride home, Sweet had one — a 6-year-old girl — sit in the front seat of his car. He then proceeded to take a photo of the child under her underwear, according to Jennifer Effler, an assistant county prosecutor.
The girl and the two other children in the car reported the incident to parents, who contacted school officials, Ms. Effler said. The school officials then notified the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the case.
According to Ms. Effler, a subsequent search of Sweet’s phone uncovered numerous photos — none believed to have been taken by Sweet himself — of children in various stages of undress or in sexual situations.
Of the 13 charges filed against him, only two stemmed from the incident involving Sweet’s passenger. Investigators determined through messages he later sent that he deleted the photos he took of the girl, Ms. Effler said, but the other children’s witness statements were strong enough evidence to charge him.
Judge Michael Goulding scheduled Sweet’s sentencing for April 30. Ms. Effler said that will allow time for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to review the image files from Sweet’s phone to determine whether any of those victims could be identified.
Judy Potter, a co-owner of Black & White Transportation, said Thursday afternoon that Sweet was driving for the company as an independent contractor. When the sheriff’s office contacted Black & White, she said, “We gave them all the information that they needed to pick him up and charge him.”
Ms. Potter said Black & White was originally contacted by the school district, and in response, it immediately pulled Sweet off all driving assignments involving children of any age but allowed him to keep driving adult trips under a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Once the sheriff’s office weighed in, she said, Black & White and Sweet mutually agreed that he should leave the company.
The transportation company obtains background checks from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for all contractors and also does FBI checks for any who have been working in Ohio for fewer than the previous three years, Ms. Potter said.
“I feel badly for the family and the school district to have to deal with this,” she said.
Ms. Potter said Black & White provides student transportation for a variety of purposes, but she did not know the exact circumstance for the victim’s ride.
School officials did not respond Thursday to a request for comment.
First Published April 3, 2025, 9:26 p.m.
