New Jersey teacher who slept with students at family bagel shop learns prison sentence
A former New Jersey high school teacher who groomed two of her students before sexually assaulting them, including at her family’s bagel shop, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Julie Rizzitello, 37, who taught at Wall High School in Wall Township, was sentenced during a hearing in Monmouth County Superior Court, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Judge Jill G. O’Malley ordered that she serve 10 years in state prison, be placed on parole supervision for life, register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, which requires certain offenders to register with law enforcement, have no contact with the victims and permanently forfeit her teaching position.
WEST VIRGINIA TEACHER FIRED AFTER ARREST ON CHILD SEX ABUSE CHARGE
Rizzitello had pleaded guilty in September to two counts of second-degree sexual assault stemming from crimes in 2017 and 2024.
Prosecutors said the sexual acts took place at Rizzitello’s home in Brick, inside a vehicle in a Wall Township parking lot and at a Belmar bagel shop owned by her family, where both victims worked at her suggestion.
An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Bureau and Wall Township police found that Rizzitello met one victim as a freshman and the other as a junior at the high school. Authorities said she asked to spend time alone with the teens and developed a friendly relationship before escalating to sexual activity over several months.
While the investigation was ongoing, Rizzitello contacted both victims and asked them to delete evidence of the crimes from their electronic devices, authorities said.
Police arrested Rizzitello without incident in July 2024 after a district employee notified them of her relationship with a student, according to the Coast Star.
FORMER MISSOURI SUBSTITUTE TEACHER GETS 10 YEARS FOR TRADING STUDENTS MONEY, DRUGS FOR SEX
The incidents involving the first victim took place in May and June 2024, according to the outlet, citing a police arrest warrant.
Rizzitello and the student, who had turned 18, had sexual contact in his car in Brick in May 2024, NJ.com reported, citing an affidavit of probable cause. They also met at other locations, and she sent him nude photos, officials said.
After her arrest, a second victim came forward and told investigators he and Rizzitello had intercourse in November 2017 and January 2018 at her residence in Brick Township, according to the Coast Star, citing an affidavit of probable cause. The victim was 17 at the time. Pictures and text messages corroborated his account, the outlet reported.
FORMER TEXAS COACH ALLEGEDLY USED AI DOCUMENT TO GROOM TEEN WITH MANIPULATION TACTICS: REPORT
In imposing the sentence on Wednesday, O’Malley denied a defense request to reduce the prison term to five years, referencing a victim impact statement read aloud in court, according to prosecutors.
"These crimes were not isolated incidents constituting moments of poor judgment; they were textbook cases of grooming, involving a defendant who repeatedly leveraged tactics of isolation, manipulation, and control for the sake of her own selfish purposes," Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said. "The egregious nature of the conduct was further compounded by the plain fact that the emotional and psychological harm she inflicted came at the expense of two of the very same young minds she had been entrusted to develop and nurture."
Wall Township Police Chief Sean O’Halloran praised the victims for coming forward.
"I want to commend the courage of those who came forward to report these crimes. It is never easy to speak up, especially when the offender is someone in a position of trust," O’Halloran said.
Rizzitello, who taught English, was hired in 2013 and earned an annual salary of about $62,000 before resigning, according to NJ.com.
In July 2024, Wall Township Public Schools acknowledged the charges and said the district was fully cooperating with law enforcement.