Teacher Molested Girl On Camera In Marlboro School Hallway, Mom Says

MARLBORO, NJ — Parents of a Marlboro Memorial Middle School student say the girl's teacher sexually assaulted her in a hallway at school in an incident caught on video, and accused school district officials of not alerting them or authorities immediately.

The accusations came during the public portion of the Marlboro Township Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night.

"My daughter was sexually abused in that hallway on camera," the mother said, referring to the March 13 incident. The incident was witnessed by another teacher, the mother said, but it was not reported to the family until after school.

The parents allege the teacher groped and fondled the girl's breasts during the incident in the hallway. Afterward, the girl "went back to class for three hours and was tortured more," the mother said. The parents gave their names during the meeting, but Patch is not publishing them to protect the identity of the girl.

The district was closed Thursday after a bomb threat was emailed to the middle school and the Board of Education offices. Read more: Bomb Threat Closes Marlboro Schools Thursday: District

"She molested my daughter and you didn't call me until 3:30 p.m.," the mother said.

The mother said the girl then had to deal with continuing to see the teacher's photo in the classroom for more than two weeks afterward, adding to the girl's distress over what happened.

What angered the parents even more was a letter from Marc Zitomer, the attorney for the Marlboro school board, which the mother said blamed the parents for what happened.

"If anybody should have been aware of (the teacher's) proclivities it was (the child's) parents," the mother read from the letter, which the family received over the weekend. "He blamed me for what happened down that hallway. He said it was my fault my daughter was sexually abused at that school."

The mother said the parents reported the incident to law enforcement on the day it happened, and said the family is waiting to hear whether charges will be filed.

Chris Swendeman, a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, said the office "is aware of this matter and we are monitoring it."

"While we are not directly involved in the investigation at this time, we have offered our support and resources to the Marlboro Police Department if the need should arise," he said.

The teacher submitted her resignation, but the Marlboro school board on Tuesday night delayed action on the resignation to determine whether tenure charges were more appropriate.

"I don't want you to misunderstand this as anything else," board president Valentina Mendez told the parents after the closed session. "I don't want to give her the grace of a resignation. There is too much room for something else to happen."

The board wanted a better understanding of the tenure charge process and the potential outcomes, Mendez said. A special meeting was expected to be called for the board to vote on tenure vs. the teacher's resignation, she said.

Under tenure proceedings, the teacher could potentially lose her pension if the state tenure board agrees, but it is not a guaranteed outcome and would require keeping the teacher on the payroll until the matter is decided. If the district simply accepts her resignation, the teacher would still receive her pension but would no longer receive a salary from Marlboro.

In addition to accusing the district of failing to act in a timely manner, the mother alleged there had been other parents who reported incidents with the teacher but those reports had been brushed aside and the teacher simply moved around the district, which teaches preschool through eighth grade.

"You failed to prevent the atrocity that happened to my daughter down that hallway," the mother said.

"The district had no knowledge whatsoever," Zitomer said. "There was no prior issue that would have given the district any indication she would have done this." He said the district "immediately took action and reported it to law enforcement.

He also apologized to the mother for the language in the letter, saying he did not intend to blame her and her husband.

Board members said they had not seen the letter Zitomer had sent to the parents. One board member said she was stunned upon hearing the language.

"I don't even know how to put it into words," she said. "I was floored when I found out what had been communicated on behalf of this board."

After a lengthy closed session, the board said another attorney from Zitomer's firm would replace him at board meetings going forward and the school board would be accepting proposals from law firms to potentially replace his firm.

Note: This article has been updated to correct the school board attorney's last name.