10 New Sex Abuse Lawsuits Against Cherry Hill Schools Filed By Former Students

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Ten former Cherry Hill students filed lawsuits Wednesday claiming a former teacher sexually abused them and that school officials failed to report his misconduct.

Former teacher Otto Becken sexually abused the victims while they attended Cooper Elementary School between 1974 and 1984, according to the lawsuits, which name the Cherry Hill School District and Board of Education as defendants.

Seven former students have filed similar lawsuits involving Becken over the past two years.

Becken began working at Cherry Hill Schools in 1970, teaching sixth grade and remedial English. Throughout his career, he sexually harassed and assaulted students several times on school grounds and during week-long overnight trips at an educational camp, The Pinelands Center at Mt. Misery in Browns Mills, the lawsuits say.

Sexual abuse included fondling of genitals, attempted anal penetration, masturbating in the presence of children and exposing his genitals to students, according to the lawsuits.

In 1984, Becken was charged with sexual assault against two of his students — both 12-year-old boys — during a lunchtime remedial reading program, according to the lawsuits. After the misconduct was reported to police, school officials gave Becken the option to resign instead of being fired, the lawsuits state.

Becken resigned in November 1984 and pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault a few months later. He died in Pennsylvania in 2011.

"Becken was a monster," said Joe Sisti, a plaintiff who says Becken sexually abused him during the 1979-80 school year. "I pray something like this never happens again."

But for years before his resignation, school officials received complaints about Becken and failed to take proper action, the lawsuits claim.

During the 1978-79 school year, one plaintiff saw Becken sexually abusing boys by placing them on his lap and wrestling with them to grab their genitals, according to a lawsuit filed by "Jane Doe."

That same year, Becken groped and fondled Doe's breasts and buttocks, her lawsuit says. She reported the sexual misconduct to the principal several times.

The principal at that time told the student he would "look into this" and "fix this." But he failed to make mandatory reports of the allegations to New Jersey's Division of Youth and Family Services.

Since Becken faced no repercussions, the district had "empowered and emboldened" him from that point on, the lawsuit says.

The recent round of lawsuits come from 10 former students — nine male — who were 10 to 12 years old during the alleged abuse. The lawsuits were filed under the New Jersey Child Victims Act, a 2019 law that extended the time period to file sexual abuse lawsuits, regardless of when the abuse happened.

"These brave survivors have come forward to hold accountable those who turned a blind eye while children were being harmed," said Jeffrey Fritz, an attorney representing many of the plaintiffs. "The ongoing pattern of deliberate inaction by those in power reveals a disturbing culture of silence that must be addressed."

Patch contacted a Cherry Hill School District spokesperson and the school board's attorney for comment but didn't receive responses in time for initial publication.