A Monmouth County grand jury has indicted a special education teacher who prosecutors previously said was "obsessed" with a 15-year-old student.
Allison Havemann-Niedrach, 44, of Jackson, was hit with the seven-count indictment on Tuesday, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said.
The mother of two is charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, first-degree child endangerment by manufacturing child sexual abuse materials, two counts of second-degree endangering, second-degree official misconduct, second-degree sexual assault, and third-degree endangering.
Investigators Found Thousands of Explicit Photos, Videos and Texts Exchanged Between Teacher and the Student
As previously reported, Havemann-Niedrach had a sexual relationship with a student that began in early 2024 while she was a special education teacher at Freehold Intermediate School, prosecutors said. She was arrested in June 2024. The Asbury Park Press reported that she was released and placed on home detention following a detention hearing last July.
Prosecutors said at the hearing that investigators uncovered thousands explicit photos and videos and thousands of texts that Havemann-Niedrach and the eighth-grader exchanged, confirming the sexual nature of their relationship. She was "obsessed" with the victim, Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Zanzuccki reportedly said.
Havemann-Niedrach was Investigated After School Staff Noticed Her Flirty Behavior with the Student
An investigation was triggered after staff at Freehold Intermediate raised alarms when Havemann-Niedrach was observed bringing the student food and eating lunch with him daily in a classroom, Zanzuccki said.
Another teacher witnessed her rubbing the victim's back and neck, and touching his leg, describing the interaction of her colleague with the eighth-grader as flirtatious, Zanzuccki said.
Victim's Mother Said Teen Would Always Be On His Phone, When Confronted He Said He was in a Relationship with the Teacher's Daughter
About the beginning of June, a vice principal recommended that police be notified about their suspicions, the assistant prosecutor said.
The student's mother would tell investigators she had grown concerned about her son. He had been seen by his sister sitting in the teacher's car and was always on his phone late into the night, the assistant prosecutor said. Investigators would also learn that the victim had confided in a friend that he was dating a teacher, Zanzuccki said.
When confronted, the boy denied there was anything going on between him and Havemann-Niedrach. He claimed he was dating the teacher's daughter, Zanzuccki said. Nonetheless, after he turned over his phone to authorities, more than 25,000 text messages were recovered between the teacher and student, she said.
Sexual Encounters Took Place at Teacher's House, Hotels
A few days later, the boy's mother contacted investigators to inform them that her son had admitted to her that he had been in a sexual relationship with Havemann-Niedrach, the assistant prosecutor said.
The victim told investigators that their sexual relationship began around January 2024, which took place at both the teacher's house and at hotels, which investigators were able to corroborate, using cell phone data and financial records, Zanzuccki said.
