Teacher accused of sex with student released from jail to care for her two small children

FREEHOLD - Months before a Hamilton Township high school teacher was caught having sex with a student in the back seat of her vehicle on the banks of Assunpink Lake in Upper Freehold, school officials warned her to stay away from the 17-year-old boy and placed her on administrative leave when she failed to do so, an assistant prosecutor told a judge Wednesday.

Keri-Leigh Schaefer, assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, cited that as one of the reasons she believed 37-year-old Jessica Sawicki of Point Pleasant Beach should remain in jail without bail to face sexual assault and child endangerment charges.

In addition, Schaefer said the state has a strong case against Sawicki because she has confessed to engaging in sexual activity with the student on at least five occasions.

But Sawicki's attorney, Edward Cridge, succeeded in convincing Superior Court Judge Richard W. English to release her from the Monmouth County Jail, telling him the defendant has two small children at home.

"Her husband is present today in the courtroom,'' Cridge said. "Obviously, this is a difficult thing for any couple to go through, but he's here in support of his wife, in support of their family.''

Cridge told the judge the defendant and her husband, Michael, have a 5-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son.

"They don't know where their mom is right now and it's getting hard to explain that to them at home,'' Cridge told the judge

Sawicki, a special education teacher at Hamilton High School West, had been in the Monmouth County Jail since her arrest April 9.

A criminal investigation into the teacher began on April 7, after a lieutenant with the state Division of Fish and Wildlife spotted her sport-utility vehicle blocking access to the lake at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area in Upper Freehold, Schaefer said. The lieutenant then noticed another vehicle, which turned out to be the victim's, parked behind the sport utility vehicle, with the boy and Sawicki in the back seat, the assistant prosecutor said.

When the lieutenant approached the vehicle, he saw the boy quickly put on his pants and Sawicki pull up her skirt, Schaefer said.

The lieutenant's body-worn camera captured that activity, she said.

An ensuing investigation revealed that several staff members at Hamilton High School West went to their principal earlier in the school year to report what they said was an inappropriate relationship Sawicki was having with a student, Schaefer said. They reported Sawicki was spending time with the boy, a high school senior, without good reason, the assistant prosecutor said.

After that, the principal had a conversation with Sawicki "about boundaries,'' but Sawicki continued to spend time with the boy, Schaefer said.

Then, in January, she was placed on administrative leave after school officials again talked to her, and she admitted to engaging in inappropriate conduct, including giving the student small gifts and preferential treatment, including passes to get out of class, Schaefer said. At that time, Sawicki was ordered by school officials not to contact the boy, but she defied the order and continued to have a relationship with him, Schaefer said.

After she was caught in the back seat with the victim at the lake, Sawicki agreed to speak with detectives and told them she first met the victim when he was a sophomore, the assistant prosecutor said. Sawicki told detectives she previously taught the boy's older brother, who told her the younger boy had a rough childhood, was struggling in school and needed extra attention, Schaefer said.

Sawicki said she and the boy exchanged phone numbers when he was a junior, and by the time he was in his senior year, they met at Assunpink Lake at least 10 times, Schaefer told the judge. On about half of those occasions, Sawicki said they engaged in either unprotected sex or other sexual acts, the assistant prosecutor said.

"As the adult in the situation, as a teacher at the high school, she was in a position of power and authority over this child student and she used that position of power and authority to begin a relationship with him,'' Schaefer said, arguing that Sawicki poses a danger to the community.

Cridge argued the opposite.

"What happened here was affectional,'' he said.

The relationship developed over time and was "not anything impulsive or predatory,'' the defense attorney said.

Cridge said the student has not cooperated in the investigation and has refused to talk to detectives.

"This is a young person who clearly is capable of taking care of himself,'' Cridge said.

Cridge told the judge his client is not a flight risk.

"She's not leaving her kids, your honor, two little kids,'' he said, arguing for his client's release from jail.

English agreed to release Sawicki from jail to await trial on the condition that she have no contact with the victim and no unsupervised contact with any minors other than her two children. She is required to report to court staff every other week.

The judge scheduled Sawicki's next court appearance for May 30 before Superior Court Judge Jill Grace O'Malley.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Teacher accused of sex with student freed from jail to care for kids