Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office
Michelina Aichele, a 29-year-old English teacher at Montgomery High School in New Jersey, has been accused of sending naked photos to an unidentified teenage student.
According to Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson, Aichele was arrested on Friday, October 5, after officials from the Montgomery High School reported inappropriate communication between her and a 17-year-old student.
Police say that when the victim was interviewed, he revealed that he received nude photos from Aichele over the course of several months. Additionally, the student claimed that Aichele engaged in sexually explicit conversations with him through social media sites and email.
She has since been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and was being held at the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing,
via MyCentralJersey:
Aichele works as an English teacher at the school, earning $70,306 in 2017, according to state records. Her LinkedIn profile states she has been teaching English at the high school since April 2012.
A December 2006 Courier News report lists Aichele as a senior guard on the Manville High School girls basketball team. An April 2007 Courier News report lists Aichele has a senior shortstop on the Manville High School girls softball team.
“This teacher was suspended and removed from the high school on Oct. 4, 2018 while the investigation was ongoing. The teacher’s suspension shall be continued pending a resolution of the criminal charges, and the district will continue to cooperate with the Somerset County Prosecutor and the Montgomery Township Police Department,” Superintendent of Schools Nancy H. Gartenberg said in a Oct. 9 letter to the Montgomery Township School Community.
Authorities are asking anyone with additional information on Aichele is asked to call the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit (908) 231-7100 or Montgomery Township Police at (908) 359-3222.
Aichele is just the latest teacher to be charged for inappropriate conduct. Over the course of just a few months, educators across the country were arrested for entering into an inappropriate relationship with their students, Tennessee teacher Janet Smothers, LaToya Parker, Florida teacher Caroline Lawson, 26-year-old Allyson Moran and Katherine Ross Ridenhour were all arrested on similar charges. A woman named Kayla Sprinkles was arrested in North Carolina for similar sexual crimes.
The list goes on to include 22-year-old Oklahoma science teacher Hunter Day, 28-year-old teacher Megan Kotarski, 23-year-old history teacher Michelle Schiffer, 29-year-old Alyssia Marie Reddy, special education teacher Jordan Ondish and 28-year-old Samantha Fitzpatrick have all been allegedly carrying on inappropriate relationships with their students.
34-year-old Miranda Nicole Pauley was charged with similar crimes, Nancy Leigh Ann Brann, a former Christian school teacher, was arrested for having sex with a student, Coine Audiat pleaded no contest to having sex with a minor in 2016 and 23-year-old Darci Lake was arrested for an inappropriate relationship. 27-year-old Brittany Zamora from Arizona was arrested on similar charges. Keri Hoffman, 35, was also arrested for an alleged relationship with a student. Similarly, 29-year-old Tiffany Ranweiler-Oblander and 33-year-old Maren Oates were arrested on similar charges.
More recently, 29-year-old Haylie Smart, 25-year-old Alaina Ferguson, and 32-year-old Laura Bucy were charged with similar crimes.
