NJ educator accused of sexually abusing student in 1998, 1999

🔴 NJ educator has been accused of sexually abusing a child

🔴 Reported abuse happened in the late 1990s

🔴 Man arrested was an elementary school teacher at the time

A New Jersey assistant principal has been accused of sexually assaulting a student multiple times, more than 20 years ago when he was an elementary school teacher.

Kenneth “Kenney” Lutz, of Phillipsburg, has been charged with aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault by contact.

The 52-year-old Lutz has been accused of the abuse between 1998 and 1999, when the victim was 12 and 13, according to Warren County Prosecutor James Pfeiffer.

Pfeiffer said on Tuesday that Lutz also had driven the child to and from school, based on his “relationship with the family.”

(Google Maps)

Where accused educator worked

Lutz previously worked at Lopatcong Township Elementary School, as well as Beloved Community Charter School in Jersey City and at a school in Florida.

He became assistant principal at Merriam Avenue Elementary School in Newton in 2015.

Once his current district learned of the charges stemming from the Warren County case, Lutz was suspended immediately.

"I take the safety of the students in our district very seriously and am committed to helping our community get through this difficult time," Newton Superintendent of Schools Joseph Piccirillo said in an email to New Jersey 101.5 Tuesday night.

The school has been moving to fill the vacancy at Merriam Avenue ahead of September.

Piccirillo said none of the charges filed were related to Lutz's work in Newton.

Lutz grew up in Phillipsburg but also has lived in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and in Daytona Beach, Florida, according to a previous report by TapInto.

According to the same report, he was married with three children and is a 1995 graduate of Centenary College.

NJ teachers and educators caught in sex crime busts

Over the past several years, state lawmakers have dealt with accused child predators among ranks of teachers and educators.

The following individuals were arrested and charged in 2021 and several years earlier. Some were convicted and sentenced to prison.

Others accepted plea deals for probation and some cases were still pending.

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt

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