The lawsuit alleges that a New Jersey special education teacher sexually assaulted a student in the school hallway

MARLBORO, NJ (CITC) — A New Jersey family is suing their daughter’s school district after her alleged sexual assault by a special education teacher was caught on camera.

The family of the student, identified in the lawsuit as LT, sued both Jenna Sciabica and Marlboro Township Public Schools leadership on Wednesday. Sciabica, a former teacher of students with IEPs at Marlboro Memorial Middle School, is accused of “grooming” and sexually abusing LT. The latter incident allegedly occurred in a school hallway and was caught on camera.

On March 13, Sciabica “fondled” LT’s breasts in the doorway of her classroom and placed her hand on the student’s forehead to indicate that she was “getting hot,” according to court documents reviewed by Crisis in the Classroom (CITC). In a class shortly after the incident, the teacher is said to have discussed the size of LT’s breasts and “how well filled they are.”

The lawsuit alleges the incident arose because Sciabica “shaped” LT “by establishing herself as a formal authority” in middle school. Sciabica has known LT’s family for more than a year because she tutored the student’s younger siblings, the lawsuit says.

“LT could no longer endure the torment and became increasingly angry but did not know what to do,” the lawsuit says.

The middle school’s vice principal reportedly called LT’s mother on the afternoon of March 13 to inform her of the incident. Ultimately, however, Marlboro Township officials “took no action” even though the interaction was recorded, the lawsuit says.

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At a school board meeting on April 16, LT’s mother claimed that the district’s attorney had blamed the student’s family for the matter and read aloud a letter allegedly written by the official.

“If anyone should have known this teacher’s tendencies, it should have been Jane Doe’s parents,” the mother read.

“He blamed me for what happened in that hallway,” she added. “Your teacher, Jenna Sciabica, harassed my daughter at school…and he said it was my fault.”

According to school board records, Sciabica’s resignation was accepted at the same meeting. The lawsuit alleges that Marlboro Township Superintendent Michael Ballone sent a notice to families the following day saying Sciabica was “immediately removed from her position” after officials learned of the incident .

“This misrepresentation was intentionally designed to spread false information to an angry population,” the lawsuit says.

Sciabica’s attorney told CITC the lawsuit proves it is “a baseless, defamatory accusation that is nothing more than a money grab.”

“The woman who filed this frivolous lawsuit has welcomed my client into her home and treated her like family for the past three years,” the attorney’s statement said. “The fact that this lawsuit now alleges that my client ‘sexually groomed this girl’ is absolutely outrageous.”

CITC reached out to Marlboro Township Public Schools for comment but did not immediately receive a response. This story will be updated if a response is received.

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