A teacher “groomed” a 14-year-old girl before grabbing the teenager inappropriately at a New Jersey school, according to a lawsuit filed against the instructor and local education officials.
Special education teacher Jenna Sciabica left her job at Marlboro Memorial Middle School last month before she was charged with one count of harassment-offensive touching following a month-long investigation by school officials and local police.
The petty disorderly persons charge was filed days after the alleged victim’s mother went to a Marlboro school board meeting and publicly accused the teacher of sexually assaulting the teenager. “She molested my daughter,” the mother said before the board.
Nima Ameri, an attorney representing the student’s parents, filed the lawsuit in Monmouth County Superior Court last week. The complaint alleges a video shows Sciabica fondling the student’s breast in the hallway in view of another teacher.
Sciabica repeatedly made sexual comments in front of students, the lawsuit said. The alleged comments included inappropriate remarks about other teachers at the school and remarks about her own sex life to her students, who were between 10 and 14.
Marlboro Public School Superintendent Michael Ballone did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the lawsuit.
Sciabica’s attorney, Mitchell Ansell, alleged the lawsuit is a “money grab” by the student’s family. He denied the teacher did anything wrong and said Sciabica intends to plead not guilty to the criminal charge and have her “exemplary” reputation as a teacher restored.
“For this lawsuit to now claim that my client was ‘sexually grooming this girl’ is absolutely outrageous,” Ansell said in a statement.
Police began investigating the misconduct after the March 13 incident in the hallway, according to the lawsuit.
Sciabica was a tutor and was familiar to the teenager’s family. Sciabica privately tutored the girl’s two younger brothers, the complaint says. The girl was also a student in Sciabica’s classroom at school.
“The woman who filed this frivolous lawsuit welcomed my client into her home and treated her like family for the past three years,” Ansell said. “She wanted my client to be actively involved in helping to raise her daughter. They treated my client as if they were her aunt.”
Ameri, the parents’ attorney, said the teacher and the family were on good terms before the incident.
“They developed a friendly relationship, but that doesn’t justify what happened,” Ameri said.
At the school board meeting last month, the girl’s mother accused school officials of failing to prevent Sciabica’s wrongdoings, adding that her daughter was forced to go to the teacher’s classroom following the alleged sexual assault.
Ameri previously alleged the teacher texted the girl’s parents, asking them to cover for her because she was afraid she would lose her job. Sciabica also allegedly visited the family’s home to speak with them that day.
The parents also allegedly sent a letter to the school board seeking a settlement weeks before Sciabica was charged and their attorney filed their civil case.
The Marlboro school district had a turbulent week after the family publicly accused the teacher of sexual abuse. The district closed one day and had a delayed opening the following day after bomb threats were emailed to a staff member, school officials said. Police have not said whether the threats were related to the accusations against the teacher.
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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
