Crime

Former North Shore coach arrested for inappropriate messages to minors

Jason Rutkauskas, 46, of Gloucester, pleaded not guilty and was held on $5,000 cash bail, according to court records.

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April 11, 2025

1 minute to read

Police arrested a former North Shore high school soccer coach Wednesday after allegedly finding sexually explicit messages with minors, officials said.

Jason Rutkauskas, 46, of Gloucester, was charged with disseminating obscene matter to minors and enticement of a child under the age of 16, according to a statement from the Gloucester Police Department.

Rutkauskas pleaded not guilty and was held on $5,000 cash bail, according to court records. He was ordered to not contact any person below the age of 18 except for his own children.

Police said they have been aware of Rutkauskas’s alleged behavior since mid-March. Court records state that over 70 screenshots of inappropriate messages were collected by police.

Rutkauskas allegedly owned private social media accounts on Instagram, Snapchat, and Telegram to contact teenage boys since September, according to court records. These high school students — some of whom were former soccer players he coached — were between 16 and 18 years old.

Rutkauskas was fired as varsity soccer coach in the middle of the season at Rockport “a few years ago” because of a “bullying investigation,” according to court records. While coaching at Gloucester High School, he had accusations of inappropriately messaging students and was fired, though no criminal complaint was filed, according to officials.

Rutkauskas is expected to return to court May 5 for a pretrial hearing, according to court records.