A special education teacher at an intermediate school in New Jersey was arrested for an alleged sexual relationship with a student, according to authorities. 43-year-old Allison Havemann-Niedrach at Freehold Intermediate School was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced.
According to the New York Post, she was arrested earlier this week after an investigation revealed that she allegedly began sexually abusing her student earlier this year. However, authorities did not say how the conduct came to light or how many times she had assaulted the student. The age of the alleged victim has also not been revealed, but grades six through eight attend Freehold Intermediate School.
She is currently being held at the Monmouth County jail in Freehold Township, pending a first appearance and detention hearing. A hearing will be conducted to determine whether she will continue to be detained while awaiting trial.
The prosecutor's office asked members of the public to provide more information about her activities. ''Anyone with information about Havemann-Niedrach's activities is being urged to contact MCPO Detective Dawn Correia at 800-533-7443,'' the release read.
As per her LinkedIn profile, Havemann-Niedrach has been a special education teacher at Freehold Intermediate School since March 2022. She has been a teacher or a substitute teacher at several schools dating back to 2008, according to her profile.
The teacher describes herself as: "Passionate, results-driven, and sincere educator. Poised and competent and thrives in performance-driven environments. Demonstrated history of a 'do what it takes' work ethic and truly differentiated instruction."
After the arrest, Asia Michael, the superintendent of the Freehold Borough School District sent an email to staff and parents that read, ''We have been informed that a former staff member has been arrested on allegations of third-degree aggravated sexual assault and inappropriate sexual conduct with a minor.
Please be assured that our district has been fully cooperative with the prosecutor's office since the outset of this investigation. The safety and well-being of our students and staff have been our top priority, and we took immediate measures to ensure their protection.''
The teacher's attorney, meanwhile, said in a statement that she ''maintains her innocence'' and refused to comment further.
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