Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Coalesce has issued a formal statement in response to publicly surfaced allegations against their guitarist Jes Steineger, as per theprp. These allegations involve purported inappropriate conduct with a 24-year-old student during his tenure as a university professor. Some of the claims, including screenshots of purported exchanges between Steineger and the student, have been disseminated through a Reddit discussion thread. In a recent Instagram post dated December 23rd, Coalesce addressed the situation.
We’re aware of a Reddit post and related comments making accusations toward our guitarist Jes and, by extension, the band.
Earlier this year, Jes informed us that he had engaged in a mutual but inappropriate email exchange with a 24-year-old student at his university. Given the obvious concerns around power dynamics, we asked to review all correspondences and evidence. We went through everything thoroughly. The physical contact that has been referenced publicly consisted of consensual interactions, which included student-initiated “pinky swears” and two non-sexual hugs, after which he did not pursue or encourage any further physical contact. Nothing resembling sexual misconduct, predation, or assault occurred. No sexually explicit images or materials were exchanged or solicited.
Jes has consistently acknowledged fault for initiating private email contact and for not immediately alerting the university, which contributed to his personal resignation from the academy. This matter arose in an academic context, and while Jes is a member of coalesce, no band-related status, access, or influence played any role in what occurred. There was also no quid pro quo conduct in his role as her professor. The documentation shows that the interaction was mutual, that the student’s attraction pre-dated these events, and it ended when Jes withdrew consent to pursue anything inappropriate.
Jes fucked up. He has repeatedly owned his part. But the narrative now being circulated goes far beyond the facts. After reviewing the evidence ourselves, we stand behind Jes and reject these mischaracterizations.
A copy of the original post containing the accusations against Steineger has been obtained and republished on Lambgoat. The accuser alleged that, during the spring semester, she engaged in an predominantly email-based relationship with Steineger, who served as her professor and academic advisor for three years. She asserted that over 100 emails were exchanged, and that these communications became sexually explicit. Additionally, she claimed that Steineger touched her multiple times during in-person meetings. An additional post, which has since been deleted and is purportedly authored by Steineger’s accuser, suggested that responsibility was shared between both parties, with the woman purportedly acknowledging her role in establishing the relationship.
The accuser has since updated their post on Reddit.
EDIT AS OF CHRISTMAS EVE 12/24: Sean said this in the comments: “To be clear we’re working on disclosing the entire email chain that happened over the course of 2 days here for full transparency.”
If only two days are disclosed for “full transparency”, I will upload every single email from the entire 4 week span we communicated on that account on this platform. I don’t care how embarrassing. It was not two days. I will not stand for mistruth. I will just drop the files. I don’t look great in every piece. Grooming is MESSY. I don’t care. I have been torn apart for months and this will be nothing new. I’ve faced institutional retaliation, gaslighting, and the loss of someone I trusted. I will also be working to pull the accurate physical event records from the university.
There are major news outlets posting about this without posting my side too. It’s disgusting.
