A middle school teacher in New Jersey has been charged days after she was publicly accused of inappropriately touching a 13-year-old female student, sparking outrage and bomb threats at the school. Marlboro Memorial Middle School teacher Jenna Sciabica, 38, has been charged with one count of harassment.
In a statement, her lawyer, Mitchell Ansell, described the accusations as "outrageous and defamatory," saying that Sciabica strongly denies any wrongdoing. The victim's mother spoke at the Marlboro Board of Education meeting, according to video seen by The New York Post, describing Sciabica as a "predator" who allegedly "sexually abused" her daughter at the school. She is now demanding harsher punishment for Sciabica.
Sexual Predator
The victim's mother alleged that the board "failed to prevent the atrocity that happened down that hallway" to her daughter. The alleged incident took place on March 13, according to the girl's mother, who claims that another staff member witnessed the alleged crime, and the event was captured on the school's security cameras.
The mother slammed the board, expressing frustration that her daughter had to go back to the classroom of her alleged assailant after the incident, where she suffered further distress.
She also admonished the board for not terminating Sciabica, whose charge comes after a month-long investigation by local police.
According to LinkedIn, Sciabica has been employed in the district since 2008.
Ansell said that his client "has been dedicated to the education of students for over 15 years" and has "never had any prior allegations and/or accusations filed against her and has an exemplary record."
Caught But Not Adequately Punished
The lawyer's statement contends "Jenna and the student in question have known each other for 3 years," and that "Jenna has a very close relationship with this student's family, even going as far as having been invited into their home on numerous occasions."
He added that Sciabica plans to plead not guilty to the charge.
"There was absolutely nothing illegal, improper or immoral about the interaction between Jenna and this student on March 13, 2024," the statement claims. "Sadly, as a result of these false and baseless accusations, Jenna and her family have been the victim of bomb and death threats."
Ansell expects that Sciabica will be completely cleared of the charges during the trial.
On Thursday, the school received a phone call indicating the presence of a bomb at the middle school. However, upon conducting a thorough search of the premises, nothing suspicious was found. Another bomb threat was made via phone call on Friday.
On Thursday, the school received a phone call, wherein someone said there was a bomb at the middle school. The building was searched, but nothing was found. On Friday, there was another phone threat involving a bomb.
