Becton Regional High School District's interim superintendent accepted blame on Monday for not contacting state or county authorities after learning that a teacher had exchanged sexually explicit text messages with a 16-year-old student.
endangering the welfare of a child and official misconduct
But Superintendent Paul Saxton said he notified the police officer assigned to the East Rutherford high school about the texting and was trying to respect the victim's family's wishes by not pursuing the matter after the teacher resigned.
Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli blasted high school Principal David Mango on Sunday for not contacting his office immediately after learning last Tuesday about the alleged “sexting” between the student and 29-year-old teacher Gianfranco Maucione.
"I'm concerned that he just resigned and was moving on," Molinelli said of Maucione on Monday. "It's not up to victims to come to police headquarters."
The girl's therapist ultimately contacted the state Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS), which notified the prosecutor's office, on Friday. No additional students have come forward, Molinelli said.
Saxton said he should have contacted DYFS, but added that Molinelli's criticism of Mango was misplaced.
“The principal did everything he was directed to do,” Saxton said.
Officials from the Prosecutor's Office met with Saxton and Mango today to discuss the situation.
“They were both advised about … what has to be done regarding the notification process,” Molinelli said. “Both the principal and the superintendant understand where they went wrong with this."
Maucione was arrested on Saturday and charged with criminal sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child and official misconduct. He posted $100,000 bail on Sunday afternoon and will be arraigned Tuesday.
He did not return a call seeking comment.
In an interview Monday, Mango said he learned late last Tuesday that the student and Maucione had been texting each other but he did not know the nature of the texts.
He said he contacted Saxton on Wednesday morning and then called Maucione into his office to ask about the texts. Maucione was suspended with pay that day and had resigned by Thursday morning, school officials said.
Their timeline conflicted with Molinelli's, who previously said that Maucione had been suspended on Tuesday.
Mango said the girl's parents were not aware of the text messages when they came into his office at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and wanted to speak with their daughter.
Saxton said he also asked school board President Bruce Young to come to his office on Wednesday. The two men spoke with the school board's attorney and, separately, to the police officer assigned to the school about the texts, Saxton said.
Saxton and Young both said that the officer, Kevin Felten, told them that it was up to the girls' parents to decide whether to file charges.
Borough police Chief Larry Minda said it wasn't clear that school officials raised any issues of criminal conduct when they talked to Felten, but Young said that they had explained the sexual nature of the texts to the officer.
Molinelli said he wasn't aware that school officials had notified the school resource officer, but said that is not protocol. He said there is a longstanding agreement between the Prosecutor's Office and school districts that requires them to notify his attorneys or DYFS whenever a teacher is accused of criminal activity.
Saxton said he mistakenly deferred to the parents desire to keep the matter quiet.
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