Molesters and predators lurk where the children are, whether it’s within the confines of the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, kid-centric businesses, or even public K-12 schools. This pervasive threat highlights the critical need for legislation aimed at protecting children and preventing the malicious intent of predators, making sure that it is difficult to exploit vulnerable children. But our Legislatures are intent on passing legislation that eliminates appropriate and professional boundaries between school staff and kids. Planned Parenthood, SIECUS and Rutgers University created age-inappropriate pleasure based sex education standards for students. Garden State Equality pushes gender ideology to be taught in New Jersey schools and also insists that teachers hide gender identity and sexual orientation from parents under policy 5756 (which makes you wonder why is school staff talking to your children about their sexuality one-on-one). Now we are facing the “Right to Read Act” that will allow kids to have access to porn, erotica, smut and obscenity in the school library by order of the librarian.
Its clear that we are missing protections in school that prevent inappropriate relationships between student and teacher.
Teacher Gropes Student in Marlboro
Last month, we reported on the story of the Marlboro Middle School teacher accused of molesting a 14 year old middle school student in the school hallway sometime in March. After years of alleged inappropriate behavior with students, Special Education teacher Jenna Sciabica was finally caught by a school camera groping the breasts of a middle school girl. On the same day of the incident the teacher decided to show up at the mother’s house for damage control and grab the mother’s breasts to show that the action was no big deal.
It’s shocking. It’s shocking that a teacher would break trust and touch a child like that, and even more shocking that she played it off as no big deal by touching the mother’s breasts. To us, normal people, it’s weird for an adult women to run around grabbing girl’s and woman’s breasts and think that this behavior is civilized and easily explained. How did this behavior get to this point?
Apparently this teacher had a history of inappropriate interactions with students, and engaged children in “grooming behavior.” The current lawsuit by the parents of the girl alleges that Jenna Sciabica would routinely and openly engage in sexually explicit and flirtatious conversation with female students in her class, openly discuss her own sexuality to her 10-14 year old students, discuss other teachers’ sex lives with the minor children, discuss men’s penis sizes in her special needs classroom, try to get children’s personal cell phone numbers and even have a discussion with a minor boy about his erection. Some of this inappropriate behavior was reported to the school guidance counselor but was never investigated by the school. The school is accused of fostering this type of environment and allowing Sciabica to continue this behavior and prey on children in the school.
For the full story watch the video below.
Polygamist Accused of Molesting His Middle School Student
Last week, 56-year-old, Camden School advisory Board President, Wasim Muhammad, told a civil sexual abuse trial jury last Wednesday that he met four out of his six “religious wives” when they were 18 as he denied accusations he groomed one wife whom he met WHILE TEACHING in middle school.
A 45-year-old woman is suing Muhammad, who is a minister and community activist in the Garden State city, for allegedly sexually abusing her when she was a minor. The alleged abuse began when he was her 7th-grade social studies middle school teacher in 1994 and carried on for multiple years, she claims. The lawsuit accuses him of dragging his ex-student to a porn theater where he made her have sex with a stranger as he creepily watched.
Repeated Sexual Assault of Student
In February, student and her mother sued the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, alleging that Lydia Pinto, a gym teacher and coach, repeatedly sexually abused the student over several years. Other staff members were aware of the abuse but did nothing to stop it, according to the lawsuit. Pinto, 38, who coached sports at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, was arrested for sexual assault following accusations from a former student. In November 2023, Pinto was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault involving a former student from Raritan Borough.
According to the lawsuit, “The teacher’s illicit involvement with the student was an ‘open secret’ at the school. The teacher was regularly observed talking intimately with the student in the hallway, walking the student to her next class, meeting with her in staff offices, and otherwise spending a disproportionate amount of time with her.”
“Not only were there open signs of the student’s sexual grooming and abuse – which any properly-trained administrator or teacher should have recognized – but at least four staff members were specifically told of the abuse by another student who reported what was happening. Yet school officials still did nothing to intervene and halt the abuse,” according to the lawsuit.
School Policy
Given the ongoing scandals surrounding sexual abuse and misconduct in public schools, one might expect robust legislative action to address these issues head-on. Abuse happens in all institutions, it’s just a matter of implementing training and policy that protects children.
In response to the sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic Church reaching its peak in the early 2000s, VIRTUS was immediately implemented as a comprehensive program aimed at preventing abuse and ensuring the safety of children and vulnerable individuals. VIRTUS includes training sessions for clergy, staff, volunteers, and even parents, focusing on recognizing signs of abuse, proper reporting procedures, and maintaining safe environments. The program emphasizes transparency, accountability, and proactive measures to prevent future incidents of abuse.
The breaking point for schools to implement policies and training to mitigate the risk of molestation often occurs when a highly publicized case of sexual abuse or misconduct within the school system occurs. Such incidents can lead to increased public outrage, demands for accountability, and legal actions that compel schools to take proactive measures to address and prevent further instances of abuse. Additionally, pressure from advocacy groups, legislative bodies, and heightened awareness about the prevalence of abuse can also drive schools to prioritize the implementation of policies and training aimed at protecting students and ensuring a safe learning environment. It’s time for you to be a part of the solution and write your legislature to mandate comprehensive public school policies and training programs to safeguard students from the threat of molestation.
