Sacred Heart H.S. volleyball coach Jason Maser, of Syosset, charged with raping teen

A high school volleyball coach was arrested Thursday and charged with raping a 15-year-old girl, Nassau police said.

Jason Maser, 22, of Syosset, is accused of sexually assaulting the girl on two occasions while employed as a girls volleyball coach for Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead and for B&B Volleyball in Albertson, according to a Nassau County Police Department news release.

Special Victims Squad officers arrested Maser at his home. The rapes occurred on Feb. 7 and March 7, police said. Maser is charged with two counts of third-degree rape, two counts of third-degree criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child. The charge of third-degree rape means a person 21 or older has sexual intercourse with someone under 17, who is legally unable to consent.

He was arraigned Friday morning in First District Court in Nassau, where bail was set at $75,000 cash, $150,000 bond of a $700,000 partially secured surety bond. Maser posted cash bail, records said.

Judge Marie F. McCormack issued a temporary order of protection for the teen named in the complaint as the victim. 

Maser, who entered a plea of not guilty, has no prior criminal record and lives with his parents in Syosset, said his attorney, John Carman, who said he had served as a part-time coach, not a full-time teacher. Carman had asked the court for no bail, and for Maser to be released to probation department supervision.

The assaults took place in Maser's parked vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.

Maser's parents were in court but had no comment. Carman later declined to comment.

Sacred Heart Academy is an all-girls Catholic high school for grades 9 to 12.

In a statement issued to the school community Friday, Sacred Heart said Maser is “not currently employed” at the school and that it ensured Maser “had no further access to Sacred Heart's premises or any School activities.”

The statement also said, “When Sacred Heart learned of the situation involving Jason Maser, Sacred Heart Academy notified the appropriate authorities and offered all available resources to the family.”

According to its website, B & B Volleyball, founded in 2008, offers organized volleyball clubs as well as indoor and beach summer programs. It has 21 girls' teams

B & B Director Mike Brewer issued a statement saying in part: “Recently, a report was received of an inappropriate sexual relationship between an adult who coached for B & B Volleyball and one of our players. This report was the first notice B & B Volleyball received about the relationship and of course, we were concerned for the well-being of our player and her family first and foremost. B & B Volleyball immediately reported this … and its details to U.S. Center for SafeSport as mandated.”

SafeSport is a national nonprofit that provides training to B & B coaches on "best practices to maintain safe spaces," the statement said. In an email, Brewer also said Maser played with the club and began working for it when he turned 18, underwent the SafeSport training and had a background check.

“The family of the athlete had confirmed that the incident had already been reported to law enforcement authorities, so B & B Volleyball did not have to take that step … The coach involved was terminated from B & B Volleyball immediately,” the statement said.

Maser also coached boys varsity volleyball for one season at Manhasset High School, September and October of 2022 but he had no other affiliation with the district, a spokesman said.

Detectives are requesting anyone who believes they were victimized by the defendant to contact the Special Victims Squad at 516-573-4022 or Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

With John Valenti and Shari Einhorn