NJ man in 1980 camping sex abuse case wins $960K from school

💰 Accuser says teacher abused him in 1980 on camping trip

💰 Claimed school was warned about predatory behavior

💰 Two other students made similar claims

AUDUBON — A New Jersey man who accused his former school of allowing a child predator to teach after receiving a warning from a social worker has won nearly $1 million in a settlement.

The accuser, a 56-year-old man who now lives in Maple Shade, first came forward in April 2022.

According to a lawsuit filed at the time, he was sexually abused by an Audubon High School teacher in 1981.

The district has agreed to settle the lawsuit for $960,000, John Paff with TransparencyNJ.com first reported. Money to pay for the settlement came from the district's insurance carrier, school board President Ammie Davis reportedly said.

The accused teacher, David Halbert, denied the accusations in court documents.

Creepy camping trips

The lawsuit said Halbert befriended the student, who was 12 years old, over six months before asking him if he wanted to go camping at Lady's Lake in Atco.

Halbert met with the student and his father at a gas station before the father gave the greenlight on the trip, according to the lawsuit.

Halbert stopped on the way to the campsite to buy beer and later gave some to the student, the lawsuit said.

After getting the pre-teen drunk, Halbert forced him to play "games" that were actually sexual abuse, the lawsuit said.

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In court documents, the accuser claims two other former students signed sworn statements saying they were similarly abused on trips to Lady's Lake.

The former student in the original lawsuit said the memories of the abuse came "flooding back" after Halbert contacted him on Facebook in 2019, the lawsuit said.

School was warned by social worker

According to the lawsuit, a social worker from Pennsylvania warned the school in 1987 that “some children have come forward" with accusations against Halbert.

However, Halbert kept his job at least through the early 1990s.

The lawsuit also said disturbing notes were found on Halbert's file, including “Chester the molester.”

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