A Maplewood, New Jersey, teacher is facing 40 felony counts of aggravated sexual assault as well as endangering the welfare of a child, according to a recent announcement by the Acting Essex County Prosecutor.
The Caldwell woman, 35, was indicted on charges that she sexually assaulted six different male students, Last September, she was arrested for sexual assaults against five boys. When the case went before the grand jury, a sixth student had been identified as a victim as well.
She was able to post $500,000 bail and was released in October. Her next court appearance will be in March in front of the Superior Court Judge.
The woman was Columbia High School’s language arts teacher for the past nine years and had also taught at other schools in the area.
The alleged assaults of the 14- and 15-year-old boys occurred on numerous occasions in 2013 and last year inside her car and in the school.
The alleged evidence against her includes a video of her performing a sex act on one student.
Situations like these ruin lives and careers, and a conviction on any of the felony counts can mean decades behind bars. Simply being charged with a felony sex crime does not mean that someone is guilty of the act. There can be many reasons why someone may be targeted for criminal prosecution when they are innocent of the crime for which they stand accused.
However, regardless of the alleged guilt or innocence of the defendant, it is vital that he or she obtain qualified legal representation able to present the staunchest defense possible to the charges.
Source: NJ.com, “6th student victim ID’d before Maplewood teacher indicted on sex assault charges” Bill Wichert, Feb. 17, 2015