Jason Castleman, a trainer for the Georgia baseball team, was arrested Thursday on felony charges that allege he provided obscene materials to and had illegal contact with a child.
Castleman, 34, was arrested by Clarke County Sheriff’s officers Thursday and taken to Athens-Clarke County Jail, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution learned Saturday. He was then picked up by Roswell police Friday and transported to Fulton County Jail. Castleman remained incarcerated there Saturday night on a $200,000 bond, according to jail records.
Castleman has been fired by UGA.
“We learned of the charges against this individual Thursday, 2.18.21, and immediately terminated his employment with the university,” UGA athletics stated in a response to a text message seeking comment. “Because this is an ongoing legal matter, we have no further comment.”
Castleman’s bio already had been scrubbed from the athletic association’s website Saturday.
According to a charging document provided by the Roswell Police Department on Saturday, Castleman is charged with electronically furnishing obscene material to a minor; use of a computer service to seduce, lure or entice a child to commit an illegal act; obscene Internet contact with a child; and solicitation of sodomy. Each charge carries with it a $50,000 surety bond.
This is Castleman’s first year at UGA. The Royal Oak, Mich., native was hired by UGA sports medicine as an associate athletic trainer in September, according to his biography in the baseball team’s media guide. Before joining the Bulldogs’ program, Castleman spent two years as a trainer for the baseball and football teams at Central Michigan University. Castleman graduated from Grand Valley State in 2014 and is married, according to his UGA bio.
No other information was immediately available.
Georgia baseball opened its 2021 season Friday. Mike Dews replaced Castleman as the team’s trainer.
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