A New Jersey high school teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a student on multiple times earlier this year — including in his car.
Julie Rizzitello, who resigned from her position as a teacher at Wall High School, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault, three counts of criminal sexual contact and witness tampering, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago and Wall Township Police Chief Sean O’Halloran said in a joint statement.
Rizzitello, 36, and the student, who was 18, had multiple sexual encounters between April and June 14, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by NJ.com.
The pair allegedly engaged in sexual acts in his car in Brick on May 14, and she later sent him nude photos, according to authorities.
Rizzitello and the teen also allegedly had sexual contact in Belmar and Wall, and shared “numerous” sexual communications with each other, according to the court document and prosecutors.
Rizzitello, of Brick, taught ninth grade English and SAT prep at Wall High, according to her now-deleted school profile page.
She was hired by the Wall Township Public Schools in 2013, and earned a salary of $62,000, state pension records show.
The former teacher is currently being held in Monmouth County Jail in Freehold Township while awaiting her detention hearing Wednesday.
Rizzitello’s arrest came a week after another Monmouth County teacher was charged with sexually assaulting a student.
Allison Havemann-Niedrach, 43, a special education teacher at Freehold Intermediate School, was arrested last week and charged with aggravated sexual assault and child welfare endangerment.
