Before Jason Casares was named associate dean of students and deputy Title IX director of IU, and before he was accused of sexual assault, he worked in student affairs at several universities around the country.
Casares received bachelor of science degrees in criminal justice and sociology, as well as master’s degrees in sociology and student affairs administration in higher education from Ball State University. At Ball State, Casares showed significant involvement in multicultural events and affairs.
“I have known Jason since graduate school,” said Andrea Mitchen, a graduate of Ball State’s student affairs administration program. “He is a highly motivated, social-justice advocate who I have seen grow into an amazing family man and contributor to the field.”
Casares was publicly accused of sexual assault in February by Jill Creighton, assistant director for global community standards at New York University. Creighton, then the president-elect of the Association for Student Conduct Administration, said Casares took advantage of her at an ASCA conference in December.
Shortly after being placed on paid administrative leave, Casares resigned from his university position. Upon reviewing the last 17 sexual assault hearings, dating back to August 15, 2015, that Casares worked on, IU announced Monday the initial findings and rulings will stand.
After graduating from Ball State, Casares moved to Lubbock, Texas, to assume a position at Texas Tech University as an assistant unit coordinator for the University’s housing and residence life program. Casares received a job offer from Purdue University shortly after and moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, in 2004 to become the assistant dean of students.
The dean position that Casares held at Purdue had some similar responsibilities to the ones he had in his role at IU. His job called for the commitment and advocacy for student safety and welfare, as well as the promotion of diversity and awareness.
Casares arrived at IU’s Office of Student Ethics in August 2011 after working toward his Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Arizona. He worked at IU for about five years until his resignation in February.
The sexual assault allegations against Casares have prompted mistrust in students who feel they have been mistreated by the system. Freshman Hailey Rial filed a complaint to the Office of Civil Rights, claiming the Office of Student Ethics failed her throughout the trials.
Rial said Casares broke the news to her that there was not enough evidence to prove her attacker was guilty. She said the process she went through was unfair, stressful and minimal.
“I think if they can stop violating Title IX, I think that they can be better,” Rial said last month. “They have to stop drawing things out and treating survivors the way that I was treated and that they should treat survivors the way that they’re supposed to be treated.”
Casares lives in Bloomington with his sons and wife, Sarah Casares, who is an IU employee at Foster Quad. He has not responded to interview requests, and the University has denied all requests of personnel-related files on a basis of a code under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act stating such records are not subject to mandatory disclosure.
The University and Office of Student Ethics also said they cannot comment on the details of the ongoing Title IX investigations conducted by the Office of Civil Rights, among other personnel and sexual assault-related cases.
“I am incredibly sad that he was destroyed by the media over an allegation that will hopefully one day be revealed as false publicly,” Mitchen said. “I hope he will be able to tell his story.”
