Deputies arrested an American Sign Language faculty member at Pikes Peak State College on Friday after he allegedly engaged in a sexual relationship with a minor student for over a year.

Jason Gunderson, 48, is accused of grooming one of his 16-year-old students and illegally beginning a 13-month sexual relationship with her after turning 17, according to court documents obtained by The Gazette.

“I love you so much, I’d sacrifice my freedom for you,” Gunderson allegedly often told the victim in reference to prison, the victim told police.

She was his student from the fall of 2023, his first semester as a full-time employee at the college, until his contract was not renewed in June due to Title IX allegations, which allegedly included an additional victim.

A spokesperson with Pikes Peak State College said in a statement emailed to The Gazette that Gunderson has not been employed there since June.

Gunderson was listed in the college’s 2026-27 faculty catalog, but the spokesperson stated it was a “holdover from a previous catalog.” The entire page was deleted after The Gazette inquired about it.

Police became aware of the allegations against Gunderson over the summer, but the case was closed after the victim refused to be interviewed by investigators. His arrest on Friday was a result of the victim coming forward in February.

Gunderson had initially begun grooming the student by giving her unnecessary extra attention, showing up uninvited to events she was involved in and asking inappropriate questions, court documents show.

When the victim had to miss class for a trip, Gunderson gave her his phone number and asked her to add him on Marco Polo, which police describe as an app similar to Snapchat that allows people to sign.

Despite getting an “ick” feeling about Gunderson, the victim felt she had no choice but to accept when Gunderson asked to make the relationship official in late 2024.

She believed that, if she rejected him, he could use his influence in the deaf community to prevent her from getting an internship and isolating her “entirely,” according to court documents.

Throughout their illegal relationship, Gunderson would suggest meet-ups with the victim outside the city limits of Colorado Springs and some surrounding areas, at times suggesting the two go to Larkspur. They would frequently leave El Paso County to spend time together for brief periods and also went on at least one trip together.

Once their relationship became sexual, the victim told police that Gunderson had sex with her 77 times before she turned 18, court documents show. Gunderson had allegedly planned “Just turned legal” decor for the victim’s 18th birthday.

The victim ended the illegal relationship at the end of 2025 because she wanted “to live a normal life”, but Gunderson reached out to her as recently as Feb. 11.

Before his arrest on Friday, Gunderson’s previous interaction with police appears to have been when he was pulled over and given a warning by Monument police for an unstated reason the night he had sex with the victim for the first time.

After the investigation restarted, the victim reached out to Gunderson in early March and asked for a video call, according to court documents. Gunderson had initially agreed but sent an email backing out, stating he was hurt and that their relationship is something “we will stand by” one way or another.

“Your maturity levels were off the charts the whole time,” Gunderson wrote in his reply. “I had no reason to doubt you. Until how it all ended. Now, just hear me out. I forgive you. Part of me takes responsibility for this.”

The victim, in part, replied by asking Gunderson to never have sex with a minor again, to which he promised to “F—ing. Kill. Myself” if he found himself in “That. Position.” again.

Investigators reviewed dozens of messages and photos that were sent between the two, including several photos showing them across Colorado and one picture with a pregnancy test.

Several Title IX complaints of sexual harassment were filed against Gunderson at Pikes Peak State College, which law enforcement accessed with a search warrant.

School officials instructed one reporting party who submitted a complaint on behalf of a redacted victim to call the child abuse hotline. That complaint was not investigated, and court documents show “they” do not have a mandated reporter protocol.

On Friday, Gunderson was arrested at his home and, as of Tuesday afternoon, had not posted his $50,000 bail for the 77 counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust that he is facing.

Gunderson has held several different educational roles, including some simultaneously, in the area since 2015, according to his LinkedIn page.

He appears to have begun work in El Paso County as a part-time ASL lab technician and instructor with Pikes Peak State College in 2015. He held that role until becoming a full-time ASL lecturer in the fall of 2023, when he first had a class with the victim in this case.

Gunderson’s LinkedIn claims he was a substitute teacher for the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind for six months in 2016 and a technology assistant for the Colorado Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing from 2017 to 2020.

Gunderson also became self-employed in 2020 by operating a tax preparation service for people who are deaf and hard of hearing.