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Julie Rizzitello, 36, submitted her resignation letter as a Wall Township High School teacher earlier this week amid being criminal charges stemming from the sexual assault of a student, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said.
The Brick Township resident has been charged with two counts of second-degree Sexual Assault, third-degree Witness Tampering, and three counts of fourth-degree Criminal Sexual Contact, Santiago said Thursday, July 4 alongside Wall Township Police Chief Sean O’Halloran.
Criminal conduct by Rizzitello began earlier this year, according to O'Halloran and Santiago.
"On multiple occasions and in at least three jurisdictions – Belmar, Brick, and Wall – Rizzitello allegedly engaged in various sexual acts with the victim," the prosecutor's office said in a news release.
Rizzitello is the latest teacher, specifically a female teacher, to have been charged with having sexual contact with a student. Last week, Allison Havemann-Niedrach, 43, of Jackson Township, a special education teacher at Freehold Intermediate School, was accused of having sexual relations with a student, as reported by Daily Voice.
Last April, Mercer County high school teacher Jessica Sawicki admitted to having unprotected sex with a student multiple times across Monmouth County. That same month, Jenna Sciabica, a 38-year-old teacher in Marlboro, was charged with one count of harassment-offensive touching, which is considered a petty disorderly persons offense, after the alleged victim's mother spoke out at a BOE meeting.
Rizzitello is facing charges in Monmouth County (on the Belmar and Wall offenses) and Ocean County (on the Brick offenses). She was arrested without incident Wednesday, July 3, and transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI), where she remains held pending a detention hearing in Monmouth County Superior Court.
Rizzitello's bio has been removed from the Wall Township schools website.
Anyone with information about Rizzitello’s activities is being urged to contact MCPO Detective Jose Rodriguez at 800-533-7443 or Wall Township Police Department Detective Devin Corso at 732-449-4500.
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