Mendham High School teacher sex case headed to grand jury

An official misconduct charge filed in December against a West Morris Mendham High School teacher accused of having sex with an 18-year-old student will be presented to a Morris County grand jury for possible indictment, attorneys said Tuesday.

Mount Olive resident Nicole McDonough, 32, and defense lawyer Timothy R. Smith were in Superior Court, Morristown, where they learned the official misconduct charge filed against McDonough by a Morris County Prosecutor’s Office detective would be referred to a grand jury. Grand juries review accusations against suspects and decide whether there is sufficient evidence against them for a case to proceed to trial.

McDonough, who was placed on leave after her arrest, is accused of committing official misconduct by having sex with an 18-year-old student. She is not specifically charged with a sexual offense. Smith after the brief appearance called the case “a rogue prosecution.” Smith previously was successful in Middlesex County Superior Court in getting an official misconduct charge dismissed against a teacher. Prosecutors are appealing the dismissal, and a trial-level ruling is not binding on other courts.

“If this matter’s not rubber stamped by a grand jury, a no-bill should ensue,” Smith said, referring to a grand jury’s decision against indictment. He said the case was “legally flawed” and that the official misconduct statute is “being applied in an inappropriate and fanciful way.”

In New Jersey, a person has to be at least 16 years of age to consent to having sex with a person who is four years older or more. But a person must be 18 to consent to sex with a person in a supervisory position, such as a teacher, coach or employer.

The official misconduct statute is punishable upon conviction by up to 10 years in prison with a minimum of five years to be served before parole consideration. A person is guilty of official misconduct if he or she, as a public servant, acts with purpose to obtain a benefit for himself or another and “commits an act relating to his office but constituting an unauthorized exercise of his official functions.”

Most teacher-related criminal cases in Morris County in the past decade have involved instructors engaged in sexual liaisons with students younger than 18. But in 2005, a Randolph High School social studies teacher was charged with official misconduct for having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student.

Sattik Deb, then 25, pleaded guilty in 2005 to official misconduct but was accepted at the same time into Morris County’s Pre-Trial Intervention program. The female student made it clear to the judge that she loved Deb and wanted a relationship to continue with him. The woman was not directly Deb’s student when their romantic relationship started but she attended Randolph High School and was active in clubs he supervised.

Deb was admitted into PTI and ordered to complete three years of probation and get a psycho-sexual evaluation. He also agreed to forfeit his teacher’s certification. The official misconduct charge ultimately was dismissed after Deb fulfilled the PTI conditions.

Ten years ago, defendants could be required to plead guilty to get into PTI but the “conditional” pleas could only be used against them if they violated PTI terms. Today, defendants accepted into PTI are not required to admit any wrongdoing.

In McDonough’s case, Smith said his client is not accused of having sex with the student on school grounds. The acts allegedly occurred between May and June of 2014. McDonough was an English teacher at West Morris Mendham, with a bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Elizabeth in Florham Park where she majored in English literature and minored in secondary education.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com