Prosecutor: New Jersey special education teacher charged with sexual abuse of student

A New Jersey special education teacher has been charged with sexually assaulting one of her students, authorities said.

Allison Havemann-Niedrach, a 43-year-old special education teacher at Freehold Intermediate School, is facing first-degree aggravated sexual assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Monmouth County District Attorney Raymond Santiago said Saturday.

The Jackson resident was arrested earlier this week after an investigation by the MCPO Special Victims Bureau and the Freehold Police Department revealed that Havemann-Niedrach allegedly began sexually abusing her student earlier this year, Santiago said.

Prosecutors did not say how often Havemann-Niedrach abused her student or how authorities learned of the abuse. The student’s age is also unknown, but the students, in grades six through eight, attend Freehold Intermediate School.

Havemann-Niedrach has worked for the Freehold Borough School District since 2022, according to her LinkedIn page, and describes herself as a “passionate, results-oriented and sincere educator.”

According to the Asbury Park Press, Freehold Borough School District Superintendent Asia Michael wrote an email to staff and parents Friday evening noting the arrest of a “former employee.”

“It is with a heavy heart that I must share some disturbing news with you,” the email began.

“We have been informed that a former employee has been arrested on charges of third-degree aggravated sexual assault and inappropriate sexual conduct with a minor,” it said.

Authorities say Havemann-Niedrach is currently being held in the Monmouth County Jail awaiting her initial appearance and a hearing to determine whether she will remain in custody pending trial.

Her lawyer Thomas Huth told APP that Havemann-Niedrach “protests her innocence at this point in time.”