NJ dad defends daughter over cyberbullying, now faces prison

⭕ Dad confronts daughter's classmates over photo sharing

⭕ Father demands an apology for his daughter

⭕ Now faces up to five years in jail, if convicted

A Gloucester County grand just has indicted a father who was defending his daughter against cyber-harassment.

Aaron Thomas, 39, is now facing two third-degree charges of making terroristic threats. He was originally charged with simple assault, trespassing and disorderly conduct by police in Paulsboro.

At the time, Police say he went to Paulsboro High School on March 11 to sign his daughter out of class. That's how he got inside the building.

A very angry Thomas then stormed into a classroom and confronted two of his daughter's classmates who believed had shared photos of his daughter on social media.

Video posted to Instagram shows Thomas standing face-to-face with one student and repeatedly demanding that he apologize to his daughter.

A short time later, an adult confronts Thomas and tells him to leave.

Then there is a lot of yelling, and Thomas makes contact with at least one student.

School officials acknowledged an 'incident'

Acting Superintendent Phillip C. Neff confirmed an incident in a letter to parents shortly after the confrontation, but did not provide details.

"We are aware there are many concerns regarding the recent incident that occurred at Paulsboro Junior/Senior High School...and the subsequent videos of the incident that have been circulating on social media platforms," Neff wrote.

In the months since the confrontation, neither the school nor police have addressed whether the also investigated if the daughter's classmates had shared sensitive photos of the girl.

There was not an immediate arrest

School officials may have been unsure what to do about the incident and did not call police until three hours after the confrontation.

Once police were involved, Thomas was arrested later that day.

Thomas was released pending trial. A post-indictment arraignment hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7.

Public support for the dad

As word of the confrontation got out, there was strong support for the father.

Many callers to New Jersey 101.5's Bill Spadea said the father was doing the right thing by defending his daughter and criticized the school for not addressing the cyber-harassment.

Other callers expressed support, but said the dad may have taken things a bit too far.

One of the teens Thomas confronted was later identified as a 15-year-old student. It was his parents who filed a police report, leading to Thomas' initial arrest.

Father now faces jailtime, fines

If he is convicted of third-degree terroristic threat charges, Thomas could face a lengthy jail sentence.

Under state law (2C:12-3), "A person is guilty of a crime of the third degree if he threatens to commit any crime of violence with the purpose to terrorize another."

A conviction could result in a sentence of up to five years in state prison and a fine up to $15,000.

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