New Jersey Teacher Charged With Sexual Abuse Of Teen Who Lived With His Family

A New Jersey middle school teacher has been accused of sexually assaulting a teenager who was living with his family.

Harry Wyatt, 53, a middle school math teacher in Roselle was arrested last week on charges of sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and endangering welfare of the child. He appeared before a court Tuesday.

The 17-year-old victim, whose name was not revealed, was living with Wyatt and his wife for the past five years. The court records revealed that the victim was known to Wyatt personally and not through his role as a teacher.

She moved in with them due to a strained relationship with her parents, reported local news outlet NJ.com. Wyatt's wife grew suspicious about her husband and the girl's relationship and later discovered some text messages exchanged between them that indicated they were having sex.

The girl told investigators that she first had sex with the suspect when she was 16 years old and as recently as earlier this month. Wyatt has no previous criminal record and his lawyer, Emery Toth, said he entered a not-guilty plea in court, reported news outlet New York Post.

Wyatt was released from the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center after Tuesday's hearing on the condition that he will not maintain any contact with the girl. The court also ordered him not to have any unsupervised contact with other minors, including his students. He is a sixth-grade math teacher at Leonard V. Moore Middle School.

Roselle School District did not provide any details about Wyatt's employment status. Superintendent Nathan L. Fisher told Nj.com that the issue was a "personal matter" and refused to comment on the arrest. "Nevertheless, please rest assured that the District will cooperate with law enforcement if called upon to do so," Fisher said.

Wyatt is scheduled to appear again in court on Jan. 25.

New Jersey law defines sexual violence as any sexual act that is perpetrated against someone's will. It includes rape, attempted nonconsensual sex act and non-contact sexual abuse.