High School Teacher Sexually Assaulted Teen For Months, Suspended With Pay

A high school teacher and basketball coach was arrested Sunday night on charges of aggravated sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child. William O’Neill was employed by the Jackson Township Board of Education as a math teacher and serves as the assistant girls’ basketball coach at Jackson Memorial High School in New Jersey.

The victim, whose gender wasn’t disclosed, was said to be aged between 13 and 16 years, and alleged the sexual assault began in summer of 2018 and continued till it was reported Saturday. The crimes did not occur on the school property.

In a letter sent to parents and staff, the Jackson school district said the 53-year-old teacher was suspended with pay till February and was barred from the school property till such time as the investigation into the incident was completed. It also said the district would continue to work closely with law enforcement and the school’s resource officers during the investigation.

“The safety and security of our students and staff is our most important priority. As this involves a district staff member, we want our families to know that if any student needs help processing this information, we encourage you to contact your school’s guidance counselor or principal,” the letter stated.

District officials did not comment on the allegations but said the district had strict policies and procedures in such cases. They also claimed that all their employees underwent a criminal history background check before starting work in the district to ensure they were free of any criminal record.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said his office was notified on Saturday and the county and township detectives worked on the case right up to the defendant’s arrest Sunday night. It wasn’t confirmed whether the victim was a student taught by the alleged perpetrator or someone he coached on the basketball team.

O’Neill was scheduled to stand in front of the judge later in January. He was awaiting a detention hearing where a judge would decide whether he remained behind bars as his case proceeded. He was being held at the Ocean County Jail. The school district requested anyone with information regarding the case or any other potential victims to contact the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

There has been a slew of such cases in 2019 already. A school teacher from Cohasset Massachusetts was indicted of an indecent assault charge by the court after two students accused him of molesting them. In another case, a teacher from Alpena, Michigan, was facing charges of sexual criminal assault with a child under 13 and could face life in prison if convicted. Another teacher from Rochester High School in Michigan was accused of sexual acts with two students under the age of 18.

All the teachers who have been accused of any kind of sexual assault either resigned from their post or they were suspended without pay and eventually fired.