New information has come to light in the case of the elementary school teacher who abused her 13-year-old student and, later gave birth to his child, according to a criminal complaint seen by The Independent.
Laura Caron, 34, a fifth-grade teacher at the Middle Township Elementary School in South Jersey, is facing at least 10 years in prison if found guilty of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, and second-degree endangerment to the welfare of a child, Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release on Wednesday.
The teacher is up against a spate of grotesque sexual assault charges after she is alleged to have groomed and assaulted a young boy from the age of 11 through to 16, according to a criminal complaint.
The most disturbing revelation in the alleged abuse is that she gave birth to his child in 2019.
Caron faced a judge Thursday through a virtual court hearing in New Jersey and her detention hearing has been set for next Tuesday, said 6ABC.
She is alleged to have groomed and molested the boy between 2016 and 2020 by forming a sexual relationship with the child after she and his mother sparked a close friendship.
As the victim’s mother and the teacher’s friendship grew, the mom began “to let the children stay at Caron’s residence and she would take them to school”. Caron would also buy gifts for the victim, according to the complaint.
Laura Caron was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of a child Wednesday (Cape May County Correctional Center)
The victim’s father told police that “it began with one or two nights a week and eventually the children stayed with Caron permanently, from 2016 to 2020.”
It remains unclear as to why the parents allowed Caron to become a guardian for the children.
On December 16, 2024, the victim’s sister, explained to police she [also] spent time at Caron’s residence and believed her brother was 11 when he started sleeping at Caron’s residence.
Harrowingly, the sister described to police how she would notice Caron following her brother into the bathroom (on the 1st floor) and would proceed to “lock the door.”
The younger brother told investigators that he would see the teacher and his brother “exiting the 1st-floor bathroom together, both wearing towels and wet.”
The sister told detectives that the children would sleep in a shared room on the second floor but frequently noticed her brother would not be in his bed the next morning and would instead be sleeping in Caron’s bed with her – the victims’ younger brother, who was eight years old when he started living with the teacher, also said the same in a statement to law enforcement two days later.
One night while the younger brother was supposed to be sleeping, he told police he witnessed Caron, then 26, molest his brother, 11, while they were on a reclining chair watching a movie with a blanket over them.
In 2019, following the birth of the child, the victim began permanently sleeping in Caron’s room and started to keep clothes in her dresser, according to the younger brother to police.
According to the criminal complaint, the crimes were first raised to police following a damning Facebook post by the victims’ father who called out the uncanny resemblance of Caron’s son to his son on December 12, 2024.
Following the post, the Middle Township Schools Superintendant Dr David Salvo reported to Middle Township police officer Thomas Runyon that he received an anonymous tip regarding a teacher who may have had a sexual relationship with a student, as per the criminal complaint – the teacher was identified as Caron through the Facebook post.
After the Facebook post was published in December 2024, the victim’s younger brother said his brother disclosed to him over the phone that he was the father of Caron’s baby.
The boy’s mother also told law enforcement that her son texted her to admit he was the father of her baby and demanded that she kept it a secret for fear of getting Caron “in trouble.”
If convicted of aggravated sexual assault, Caron could face imprisonment of 10 to 20 years in New Jersey State Prison, with an additional term of five to 10 years for the other two charges.
Dr Salvo has issued the following statement to The Independent: “When the district was first advised of the allegations, the staff member was immediately placed on and continues to be on paid administrative leave. Additional questions should be directed to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office.”
Anyone with information relating to this investigation is urged to contact the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at 609-465-1135.
