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Detectives from Musella's Special Victims Unit were notified by the Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit of the New Jersey Department of Children and Family on Wednesday that Christine E. Knudsen, 44, had "engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student at the school where she is employed," the prosecutor said.
"An investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Fair Lawn Police Department revealed that Knudsen, of Fair Lawn, engaged in sexual activity with the student as well as providing and ingesting controlled dangerous substances with the student," Musella said.
Knudsen was arrested Thursday and remained jailed Friday while awaiting a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
She is charged with sexual assault and two counts of child endangerment, the prosecutor said.
The arrest stemmed from "an incident that allegedly occurred several years ago," Fair Lawn Schools Supt. Nicholas J. Norcia wrote in an email to the community.
District officials "do not understand there to be any allegations of current misconduct, and law enforcement has made clear that it does not consider any current students at risk of harm, in any way," Norcia added
Jail records show that the student was 16-17 years old at the time.
Musella thanked Fair Lawn police and state authorities for their roles in the investigation.
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DAILY VOICE broke the news of the arrest Thursday evening: Fair Lawn HS Teacher Charged With Having Sex With Former Student
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