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February 21, 2005
Another teacher faces student-sex rap
Ex-teacher Angela Stellwag isn't talking about the sexcapade that rocked Riverside High in Burlington County last week, but her 14-year-old boyfriend - 10 years her junior - may be discussing their one-on-one tutorial with authorities.
The alleged Riverside High tryst is the latest teacher-student affair to hit national news. Mary Kay LeTourneau set the standard 10 years ago by having a sexual affair with a 12-year-old sixth-grader, and she served 7 ½ years in prison as a result.
"It may not be unusual, but it was a bombshell in Riverside," said Michael E. Riley, former chief prosecutor of Burlington County, who is now representing the teen.
New Jersey authorities reacted quickly when they were notified last Monday about the alleged teacher-student affair by Riverside High Principal Lawrence Talbot.
The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office obtained court-authorized search warrants and conducted raids, seizing electronic evidence, according to Riley.
"A lot of electronic evidence would suggest that it happened," said Riley. "I have no idea what and where it was seized."
The attorney said that his client and his family were cooperating with authorities.
On Friday, Stellwag, 24, a former substitute teacher, was arrested on sexual-assault charges for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a minor, whose name was not released because of his age.
Accompanied by an attorney, she turned herself in to authorities Friday afternoon. She was released hours later after posting $20,000 bail.
Stellwag apparently lives with her parents, Delran Mayor Joseph Stellwag and his wife, on Main Street, in Delran. Yesterday, an answering machine at the address took messages, but neither Stellwag nor her father returned a call from the Daily News.
Stellwag had been substitute teacher at Riverside High since last October, but has been dismissed pending an investigation.
Riverside Township police and the sexual assault/child-abuse unit of the the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office investigated the case for four days before the arrest. The investigation is continuing.
According to the prosecutor's office, Stellwag and the student met in 2003 in Beverly City, but the relationship did not become sexual until last August.
Both the teacher and student denied the allegations last week.
Posted by Nealus at February 21, 2005 12:04 PM
