Educator Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Child Was Almost Hired At Central Regional

BERKELEY, NJ — An Atlantic County schools supervisor accused of sexually assaulting a child was almost hired by the Central Regional School District prior to his arrest, according to reports.

Darnell Williams, 34, was set to be hired as the district's supervisor of pupil services at a $103,699 salary, according to the agenda from the Board of Education's Aug. 13 meeting. But that offer was rescinded once the district learned of the allegations, Superintendent Michelle CarneyRay-Yoder told NJ Advance Media.

Williams, a Whiting resident, had served as supervisor of special projects at the Hamilton Township School District at the time of the allegations this past February. He was put on leave from that role and then fired ahead of his arrest on Aug. 28, Patch previously reported. Read more: South Jersey School Employee Sexually Assaulted Child: Prosecutor

He is charged with second-degree sexual assault of a victim under the age of 13, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and second-degree official misconduct. Williams, while employed by the school district, sexually touched a minor child who was under his care on Feb. 21, 2025, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

CarneyRay-Yoder told the Press of Atlantic City that Central Regional had not been made aware that Williams had been terminated by his previous employer, nor did they receive any information about his allegations until his arrest was officially announced.

New Jersey's "Pass the Trash" law requires schools to contact an individual's current and former employers to determine if they have any pending or substantiated allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct.

However, some of the screening forms were accidentally sent to the Hamilton Township School District in Mercer County, not Atlantic County, according to the reports.

The forms were then sent over to the correct district, the reports said, but completed ones were not received until after Williams' arrest had been publicly reported.