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The 6-0 decision by the state’s highest court 14 counts in a 25-count indictment against Michael Sumulikoski (above, top) and Arthur Sopel (above, bottom).
It sends the case back to Hackensack for the remaining counts, including allegation that Sopel tried to get two of the students to lie about the alleged incidents.
The Supremes’ ruling overturns a June 2013 decision by a state appeals court that Superior Court Judge James J. Guida was correct in refusing to dismiss the case.
“There must be territorial jurisdiction in New Jersey for the state to prosecute a crime here,” the court found. “The state has the power to prosecute crimes that occur within its borders but may not bring charges for offenses committed entirely in another state or country.”
Lawyers for both men had argued that the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office “lacks territorial jurisdiction” because “the alleged wrongful acts occurred outside New Jersey’s borders.”
The prosecutor’s office, in turn, said both men breached their duty to protect the teens, making it a state case.
“To think that parents would entrust their children on school trips and not have anyone held legally responsible if anything criminal happens simply defies common sense,” Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli told CLIFFVIEW PILOT at the time, adding that he knew of no other case of its kind ever in New Jersey.
The Supreme Court justice unanimously disagreed.
“When, as here, all of the elements of an offense that relate to conduct that took place outside the state’s borders, jurisdiction lies elsewhere—in the state or country where the conduct occurred,” they wrote.
Molinelli this afternoon responded in an email:
“While I am disappointed in the Supreme Court’s ruling, [the decision] was driven exclusively by statute and the Court ruled that we were asking it to interpret the territorial limits of the state court’s beyond what the Legislature intended when such statutes were adopted.
“I am hopeful that our Legislature receives the Court’s message and amends the statute to encompass these types of alleged offenses so as to avoid what the Court clearly deemed as ‘unsettling’ and ‘troubling’ circumstances.
“I am hopeful that school districts throughout New Jersey recognize the significance of this ruling, at least until it is corrected by statute.
“Any school sponsored class event outside of the state of New Jersey and where a similar incident is alleged to have occurred might meet with the same result, much to the surprise of parents and guardians [who] might believe otherwise when they authorize their child to attend such events.”
The appeals judges had previously found that both men had the “supervisory or disciplinary power” over the students while “assuming the responsibility for [their] care” – both of which were established in New Jersey.
“[A] state may regulate conduct occurring outside of its territorial boundaries if the conduct has, or is intended to have, a substantial effect within the territory and the regulation itself is otherwise reasonable,” the Appellate Division noted.
The appeals judges pointed to U.S. Supreme Court opinions – one in 1992 and the other from 1911 – that specify that acts “done outside a jurisdiction, but intended to produce and producing detrimental effects within it, justify a State in punishing the cause of the harm as if he had been present at the effect.”
A grand jury in Hackensack returned a 25-count indictment against the pair in December 2011 in connection with the 10-day trip the previous February to Werl, Germany, during which they served as chaperones.
Sopel, of River Edge, who was 28 at the time, was charged with six counts of sexual assault involving two alleged victims – both 17 — and two counts of child endangerment “by engaging in sexual contact.”
Sumulikoski, of Elmwood Park, who was 31, was charged with three counts of sexual assault, one of child endangerment “by engaging in sexual contact” and two of child endangerment “by allowing Sopel to perform unlawful acts in the presence of the victim.”
Both men are former Paramus Catholic High School athletes who were stars in their day.
Sumulikoski was an assistant varsity football coach in charge of the wide receivers and cornerbacks who also taught at the school. A former team captain, “Sims” was graduated from Paramus Catholic in ’01 before attending Rutgers University.
He was a two-time All-League selection at wide receiver and cornerback and winner of the 2001 All-Suburban Most Versatile Player Award.
Sopel was graduated from the school in 1998. More than 6 feet tall, he had been playing soccer when he was recruited for Paramus Catholic’s varsity basketball team and quickly became a high-scoring frontcourt player.
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MOLINELLI PHOTO: CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter Mary K. Miraglia (MUGSHOTS: Courtesy BCPO)
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