A 19-year-old former Grossmont High School music coach was arrested Monday on 12 felony charges, including statutory rape, after El Cajon police say he had a monthlong relationship with an underage student earlier this year. Jayden Joe Lang, who worked at the campus as an hourly Performance Expert providing music coaching, was taken into custody on August 24 following an arrest warrant obtained by investigators.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, police say the relationship between Lang and the student took place in March and April of this year. School staff notified both the El Cajon Police Department and the Grossmont Union High School District once the alleged conduct came to light, and Grossmont High immediately fired Lang, according to police. The Union-Tribune reports Lang has not been permitted on any district campus since April.
Superintendent Doug Martin said the district quickly issued a stay-away directive barring Lang from coming onto any Grossmont Union campus while the matter was investigated, per the newspaper's report. District officials described the Performance Expert role as an hourly position that provides coaching and instructional support meant to improve students' musical performance — a short-term classified position distinct from a certificated teaching job. The Grossmont Union High School District lists entry hourly rates for such short-term classified positions starting at $18.14, according to the district's salary schedule.
How the Case Reached an Arrest
The El Cajon Police Department confirmed in a press release yesterday that Lang was booked on the 12 felony counts, including statutory rape, and said the department remains committed to student safety and thorough investigations. Police reported there are no other known incidents involving Lang. Investigators are asking anyone with additional information to call (619) 579-3311 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
The push to notify authorities traces back to California's Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, which classifies public school employees and contractors as mandated reporters legally required to immediately alert law enforcement to suspected sexual abuse or unlawful sexual activity involving a minor, per the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Failing to do so as a mandated reporter is itself a misdemeanor under state law. That statute is what prompted Grossmont High staff to alert police and the district in April, according to the dossier's timeline.
What the Charges Could Mean
The statutory rape count against Lang falls under California Penal Code Section 261.5, which criminalizes unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor under 18 who is not married to the accused. As the Shouse Law Group notes, the offense is a “wobbler” that can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, carrying potential state prison time and civil fines of up to $25,000. California law includes no age-gap exception for young adults close in age to a minor victim, meaning Lang's own age offers no legal carve-out from prosecution.
Now that El Cajon police have made the arrest, the case moves to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, which holds exclusive authority to review the investigative report and file formal felony complaints for offenses alleged in El Cajon and the rest of East County. Under Penal Code Section 825, a suspect arrested on felony charges in San Diego County must be brought before a judge for arraignment within 48 hours of arrest, excluding weekends and court holidays — the hearing where bail is set and the DA's final charges are formally read. The exact breakdown of the 12 felony counts and the outcome of Lang's initial court appearance had not been made public as of the department's Tuesday release.
A District Already Under Scrutiny
Grossmont High School, located at 1100 Murray Drive in El Cajon, opened in 1920 as East County's oldest public high school and enrolled an estimated 2,172 students during the 2024–25 school year, according to Wikipedia. It is one of 13 high schools and adult education campuses operated by the Grossmont Union High School District, which serves more than 17,000 students and employs over 3,000 people across El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee and surrounding communities.
The district has faced other recent security episodes. In December, Hoodline reported that gunfire near El Capitan High in Lakeside, another Grossmont Union campus, triggered a brief lockdown before deputies cleared the scene. And Lang's arrest follows other San Diego County cases involving school staff accused of misconduct with students, including the 2024 arrest of former teacher Stacy Michelle Walker on suspicion of sexually assaulting a student over a two-year period, and an April arrest of a San Marcos teacher tied to a federal child sex video probe.
Police have not disclosed the exact age of the student involved or additional details about how the relationship was discovered. All charges against Lang remain allegations at this stage, and he has not yet entered a plea in San Diego Superior Court.
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