2 Students Say NJ 2nd Grade Teacher Sexually Abused Them, Lawyer Says More Victims Out There

HILLSDALE, NJ — Lawyers are looking for other victims of a second grade teacher in the Hillsdale Public Schools who was the subject of two sex abuse lawsuits from former students this year, one of which already resulted in a $3 million settlement.

On Sept. 8, a man filed a lawsuit saying he was sexually assaulted by a second grade teacher at George White Elementary School in 1981 and 1982.

The man's lawyer, Scott Leonard of Morristown, said Friday that his client was actually the second to come forward to talk about abuse by teacher Howard Schultz years ago.

Leonard also represented a man whose abuse case against Schultz went to trial this past June. Both sides agreed to settle the case while the jury was finishing its deliberations, and Leonard's client was awarded $3 million.

Leonard said that both men had been friends in second grade, and kept in touch on and off over the years.

Around 2019, Leonard said, state laws changed about the statute of limitations for suing for sexual abuse. This change prompted more victims to file lawsuits before the time ran out, he said.

When the first former student filed suit over Schultz's alleged abuse last year, according to Leonard, the firm asked the second man to testify, as they were "simultaneously" abused when they stayed after school together.

The second man agreed to be a witness, but didn't want to be involved in litigation at first, Leonard said. The man changed his mind later this year.

Leonard said that during the 1981-1982 school year, the two boys had different teachers whose classrooms were next to each other. The first victim to file a suit had Schultz as his homeroom teacher. The latter victim was in a class next door with a female teacher who frequently worked with Schultz. Both teachers have since passed away.

According to the new $10 million suit, Schultz would ask both students to stay after school to help clean erasers and other tasks. Schultz would sexually abuse the boys in the classroom and in a closet, the suit says.

Leonard said that a seven-day trial was held for the first case in June. It was near the end of jury deliberations that both sides agreed to settle.

He said his firm is now looking for other witnesses or children who might have been abused by Schultz. After initial stories ran about the new case earlier this month, he said, another survivor reached out to talk about past abuse. "We are continuing our investigation," he said.

"Our concern and fear is," he said, "with a predator like Howard Schultz, other children were likely abused. He had been there for a long time. He was not properly supervised when the two boys were being sexually abused in 1981. No one was monitoring or supervising them. They would see the boys go into the classroom after school."

He added, "There were red flags all over the place."

He said it can take a long time for victims to come forward, as they don't want to relive the abuse, and some don't always realize the harm it caused until later.

"The [newer client] was courageous and came forward and agreed to be a witness and testify about it," he said. "he did not want to be involved initially. He would have been ok going to the grave without ever talking about it. I think a lot of survivors feel that way. There's a psychological component of this that's hard to describe. He's very courageous."

He said that anyone else who was a witness or victim can contact him at sleonard@leonardlawyers.com.

Hillsdale Schools Superintendent Robert Lombardy, who was hired by the district in 2018, said earlier this month that the district will not comment on the suit.

READ MORE: Second Grade Student Sexually Assaulted At Bergen County Public School: Lawsuit