Feb 20 - NJ Teacher admits to sleeping with 15 yr old student

http://www.nj.com/essecks/index.ssf/2013/02/west_orange_teacher_admits_hav.html


Former Essecks County teacher of the year admits having secks with 15-year-old student
By Julia Terruso/The Star-Ledger
on February 19, 2013 at 11:04 AM, updated February 20, 2013 at 6:11 AM

WEST ORANGE — As she left the courtroom this morning flanked by her attorney, tears streamed down Erica DePalo’s face.

The 33-year-old former West Orange High School teacher had just admitted to a judge in Superior Court in Newark that she had secks with a 15-year-old student who was in her honors English class. Under the terms of the plea deal, she will never teach again, must register as a secks offender and spend at least 15 years under parole supervision.

If DePalo had gone to trial, she could have faced up to ten years in prison if she had been convicted. The plea deal also saves the victim from having to testify in court.

DePalo, who won accolades in her near decadelong teaching career, will receive a three-year suspended sentence (meaning she will serve no time in prison) and life parole supervision under the terms of the plea agreement when she is sentenced April 29. She will be eligible to apply for relief from parole supervision after 15 years.

In court today, Judge Peter Ryan explained to DePalo that she must undergo a psychological evaluation at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, forfeit her teaching license and never seek public employment.

DePalo must also register as a secks offender under Megan’s Law and is barred from having contact with the victim.

In August, police charged DePalo with first-degree aggravated secksual[..]ault, second-degree secksual[..]ault and endangering the welfare of a child after discovering she’d had a secksual relationship with the 15-year-old boy. The first two charges were dropped as part of the deal.

Today, DePalo appeared in court dressed in a gray pencil skirt and suit jacket, her brown hair pulled tightly back in a bun. She sat and answered questions posed by her attorney, Anthony Alfano, admitting that on June 27, 2012, a 15-year-old male student came to her Montclair apartment after school and the two had secks.

Assistant Prosecutor Tony Gutierrez said he had briefed the boy’s father on the plea and the family was happy with the deal.

Gutierrez said text messages between DePalo and the boy "made it clear they were in something of a relationship." Prosecutors have said the relationship was the only one DePalo had with a minor and that it lasted from June 15 until Aug. 28.

The plea came before the case was heard by the grand jury.

"It’s fair to say everybody wanted to get this over and done with," Gutierrez said.

In her nine years at West Orange High School, DePalo won Essecks County Teacher of the Year honors for her work with freshmen and sophomores. She taught honors English, creative writing, college prep and journalism and coached junior varsity girls tennis.

As she left the courtroom with her attorney she stepped quickly into an elevator and declined to comment.

the sun is hot, water is wet, teachers !! they students. recycle. [pic]

So, this time she told on herself? LOL okay...

Dumb chicks and their emotions [pic]

You know what I'm outraged in all of this. This is absolutely d|sgusting and i am so tired of reading about !! like this. I mean we need stricter laws for this and we need people in Washington to set federal standards in cases like this. We just gonna stand by while this happens. She's losing her job over a little bit of !!.

He wanted it she wanted it do they !!ed big deal. Now she is on parole for life?? So when times are hard she can't even smoke a little weed to cope either?


They should start sending home permission slips for kids who wanna !! their teachers. Id rather my SONS first time be with someone who will guide HIM properly through a va-jay-jay. Extra credit for making her cum. [pic]

You can't have high school guys having secks in school. Moms would flip out.[pic]





Now if you change that to college elective for freshman [pic]

If only i was a freshmen in hs again..id go after teachers

I'll !! each and every one of those moms if it means just one GUY gets to fulfill his fantasy of !!ing his teacher.

What if your DAUGHTER wanted to !! her much older male teacher? [pic]

how old is 15 really?

^this

parole for life smh

I wonder what goes in her head when she starts to hit on him....and how would she start to flirt with him?

30 is the new 20

first page [pic]

this was at my cousin's high school, gotta ask him if he knew of this chick, and how dat[..] was lookin on her [pic]

Damn[pic]

I would give her extra credit [pic]

All the other teachers !!ing students be chap, she could get it

I bet you would think different if it was a 40 year old man !!in a 15 year old girl. her punishment is not that bad. yea weed is not a big deal but its still illegal and when you are on parole or probation you cant do anything illegal. but after shes been on it for a while she wont have to report that often so if she really needed to burn she could but that's the least of her problems. her biggest problem is that this caused her to never have a normal job again. I woulda took 3 years over the suspension for good.

[pic]