Blog Archives
Vineland police charge VHS-South substitute teacher in sex assault of student at party
A substitute teacher has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a student at a party, according to Vineland police. Remarno O. Chambers, 27, of Vineland, is charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault. Chambers is accused of assaulting the student at a party attended by high school students after supplying the alleged victim with “alcohol and/or drugs,” according to police.
Chambers had been a substitute teacher at Vineland High School South, on East Chestnut Avenue. Vineland Public Schools spokesman John Sbrana stated he had been teaching there since September 2010. Sbrana stated he could not comment on Chambers’ current employment status with the school district, adding the school board will review the case and come to a decision at a later date.
According to records available at Cumberland County Courthouse, Chambers had been charged in July 2006 with assault. However, the offense was later downgraded to municipal court. The records list Chambers’ address at that time as West Chestnut Avenue, in Vineland.
Story is here.
James Leonard, retired assistant principal of Toms River North, charged with aggravated sexual assault
James Leonard, a retired assistant principal was arrested Friday and charged with sexually assaulting a 20-year-old Toms River man last month. He was charged with aggravated sexual assault after an investigation into the incident, which reportedly occurred at his home. His bail was surprisingly low at $25,000. This could reflect the strength of the State’s case.
Story is here.
Update – May 24, 2010 – 2:10PM
The latest story from the APP is still short on details. However, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office is now looking to the public to see if anyone else has any relevant information. My opinion? The case is very shaky and they need to bolster the alleged victim’s credibility. This guy needs a good attorney to jump on this case right away.
Updated story is here.
Veteran Perth Amboy middle-school teacher charged with sexually assaulting female student
William Santamaria, also known as Guillermo Santamaria, has been charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and official misconduct for allegedly sexually assaulting a female student during a six-year period.
Santamaria is (was) a social studies teacher at Samuel E. Shull School, and an adjunct professor in the software engineering department at Monmouth University in West Long Branch. Santamaria is alleged to have sexually assaulted the girl on numerous occasions in Perth Amboy from the fall of 1997 up to her 18th birthday in 2004.
Story is here.
Newark pastor is charged with forcing teen girls into sex acts
Rev. Moises Cotto, the pastor of the Congregation Yahweh on Chester Avenue in Newark, was arrested Monday night and charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, attempted aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a minor. His parishioner, Brenda Pabon, is charged with kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a minor.
Police say that after Pabon sought counseling from her pastor, the two began a sexual affair where they would regularly meet at the Benedict Motel on Routes 1&9 in Linden. While at the motel, the couple allegedly forced two teenage girls to videotape them engaged in sexual acts, and on several occasions they forced at least one girl to undress and pose for photos with the pastor. During at least one of the meetings at the motel, the pastor is accused of attempting to sexually assault one of the girls, who resisted.
The meetings at the motel continued several times a week until about two weeks ago, when one of the teenage victims reported the abuse to a parent. As a result, an investigation was launched by the Prosecutor’s Office and Linden police.
Story is here.
High school teacher is charged in online sex chat sting
Michael Seiler, a Hunterdon Central Regional High School teacher has been charged with second-degree attempted sexual assault of a minor and third-degree attempt to endanger the welfare of a child for allegedly contacting an undercover detective who was posing as a girl in a chat room. He told her to touch herself in a sexual manner and asked for nude pictures so he could masturbate.
Story is here.
Assistant pastor for Mahwah Full Gospel Church charged with sexual assault
Curtis Franklin, the assistant pastor for Mahwah Full Gospel Church in Bergen County has been charged with sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and child endangerment. The State alleges that he assaulting a girl, whom he met through the church’s youth ministry, about six years ago. What took six years and why all of a sudden this came up is unknown.
I’m not sure how much assistant pastors make but he really needs a good attorney. It is possible to win this case if the attorney knows what he or she is doing. The timing of all this will be the key focus of the case. Of course, this assumes that he did not confess.
Story is here.
Edison high school coach/South Plainfield teacher charged with sexual assault
Let the debate begin. Another female teacher charged with sexual contact wiith a minor. My guess is that she will not do any jail time. She’ll get a union attorney and this case will go away quickly. These cases just seem to have a pattern.
Sarah Blessing, 27, of South Plainfield, a coach at Bishop George Ahr High School and a fifth-grade teacher at Park Middle School in Scotch Plains, has been charged with sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a girl. The State alleges that she had a relationship with a girl that began in June and continued until her arrest.
Story is here.
Jackson firefighter charged with sexually assaulting children
John Wes Ackley, of Andover Road, Jackson, also an employee of the Board of Fire Commissioners of Fire District 4 has been charged with aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault, each of a child, possession of child pornography on his computer and on a data flash drive, and endangering the welfare of a child. These incidents are alleged to have occurred over a 15 month time span.
Ackley was charged after being questioned by the office of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office which is code for (in my opinion) he confessed. He was subsequently suspended from his job. Even if he did not confess, the alleged child porn in this case is going to make it real tough for the defense as it will be used to show that the child porn was used to make the child more comfortable with the alleged abuse. Thus, the credibility of the victim will be strengthened.
This is the type of case where the defense should act very quickly to try to end this case and get the best result possible. While I have had people charged with the same offenses and have kept them out of prison, it is not easy to do. Of course, if there is a defense here, it should be pursued to trial. Story is here.
Jersey City official for alleged online chats with young children
Joseph Ambrosio an assistant comptroller for Jersey City who resides in Wall, has been arrested for allegedly chatting with law enforcement who were posing as young girls in an online chat room. He was charged with one count of Attempted Sexual Assault, a crime of the second degree; 6 counts of Attempted Endangering the Welfare of a Child, crimes of the third degree, and one count of Attempted Criminal Sexual Contact, a crime of the fourth degree.
Based upon these charges, it is safe to bet that there were at least six different chats and that one of them got very heated due to the second degree charge.
This was a broad investigation that was conducted by the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department, Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Bayonne Police Department and the Jersey City Police Department also provided assistance.
If convicted, he is looking at 5 to 10 years in prison with no hope of avoiding prison. However, I have been able to keep my clients out of prison/jail by working out these case early.
These cases often turn on whether or not the face (or other body part) of the defendant was shown via a webcam or images that were taken specifically for the would-be young girl. If there is nothing other than text, then there is some room to argue that it was someone else. Otherwise, that defense goes out the window. Since almost all of these cases involve some type of video/image evidence, these cases almost never go to trial.
If this guy gets a good attorney right away, staying out of prison is possible. If you have been charged with this or any other crime, call me to discuss. Story is here.
Princeton High School coach indicted for sexual assault
James Kearney Jr., aPrinceton High School girls’ basketball coach has indicted on two counts of sexual assault for an alleged affair he had with a 17 year old student. Not really sure why they went with the indictment as they could have worked this out beforehand.
My guess is that he will plea out to a 4th degree and get probation. He will do this through a union attorney and it will be all done in a few months. That’s how many of these cases are handled which is why I see a lot of attorneys come in my office but so many of them opt for the free representation. I’d like to see one of these cases go to trial as it would be a great jury nullification defense. While you can’t exactly argue that explicitly, that’s really what this is and everyone knows it.
Story is here.
Tonacchio, Spina & Compitello 