New Jersey Married Teacher Charged With Having Sex With Female Student
A married, female New Jersey teacher has been charged with having sex with a girl in her home and was arrested by authorities.
Lauren H. Mitchell, a second-grade teacher at Dr. Lena Edwards Academic Charter School in Jersey City, was arrested Friday and charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, according to Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli, the New York Daily News reports.
In the statement, the prosecutor’s office announced the arrest of the New Jersey teacher, stating that an exhaustive investigation was conducted in the case.
“On June 19, 2015, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Lyndhurst Police Department arrested Lauren H. Mitchell after learning that she engaged in inappropriate sexual activity on at least one occasion with a fifteen-year-old female student who attends the Dr. Lena Edwards Academic Charter School in Jersey City where Ms. Mitchell is employed as a second grade teacher.
The inappropriate sexual activity is believed to have occurred at Ms. Mitchell’s residence in Lyndhurst. Several teachers at the Dr. Lena Edwards Academic Charter School observed what they believed was inappropriate interactions between the victim and Ms. Mitchell on a class trip and reported their observations to school authorities. The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office notified the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the ensuing investigation resulted in the arrest of Ms. Mitchell.”
The complaint indicates the New Jersey teacher, 32, was charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. Mitchell’s bail was set at $150,000 by Judge James J. Guida. The accused will have no option to post the customary 10 percent to get out of jail.
New Jersey teacher arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting female student http://t.co/4CxPHRDiWu pic.twitter.com/ORuk4eC7e8
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) June 20, 2015
Currently, Mitchell is being held at the Bergen County Jail in lieu of bail and is forbidden to have contact with the alleged victim. Additionally, she has lost her passport.
The prosecutor insists the charges are accusations at this point, and the New Jersey teacher is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A hearing is scheduled for July 7.
[Image via Bergen County]
