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Ronald E. Wells, 70, of Summit originally was arrested in June 2021 for allegedly fondling a student after luring him to a private third-floor room at the Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School in 2016, authorities said at the time (SEE: Retired Union County Middle School Theater Director Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Student).
A joint investigation by Summit police and detectives from the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit continued, leading to additional allegations that were presented to a grand jury in Elizabeth, they said.
“During the course of the investigation, several other victims, also former students, came forward to the Summit Police Department alleging acts by Wells dating back as far as 2003,” Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Acting Summit Police Chief Steven Zagorski said in a joint release Wednesday, April 6.
The result was a 13-count indictment returned against Wells by the grand jury last week, they said.
Wells, who has remained free pending trial, is charged in the indictment with the aggravated sexual assault of one student, two counts of sexual assault, four counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact and six counts of child endangerment.
The assaults occurred between 2003 and 2017, Daniel and Zagorski said. All of the alleged victims were between 12 and 14 years old at the time, they said.
Superior Court Judge Robert A. Kirsch scheduled an arraignment on the indictment for April 18.
Authorities, meanwhile, asked that anyone “with information about this or similar incidents involving Wells” contact Summit Police Capt. Ryan Peters: (908) 277-9380.
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