New Jersey teachers separately convicted of sex assault of students head to prison

🚨 Former New Jersey teachers face prison after separate convictions for sexually assaulting students.
🏫 Julie Rizzitello admitted to abusing two different students while working in Monmouth County.
⛓️ A jury convicted former Bridgeton head teacher Isaias Garza of sexual assault and witness tampering.

Two New Jersey teachers separately convicted of sexually assaulting students both were sentenced this week.

Wall Township High School teacher faces decade in prison

In the first case, an Ocean County woman who admitted to sexually assaulting two different students while working as a Wall Township High School teacher has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Julie Rizzitello, of Brick Township, pleaded guilty in Monmouth County Superior Court to two counts of second-degree sexual assault back in September.

Investigators found that Rizzitello's crimes involved two male victims, one of whom she met when he was a freshman and the other she met when he was a junior.

In each case, after spending time with the teen alone, Rizzitello’s conduct escalated to sexual activity with the victim, lasting for a period of several months.

The sexual acts took place in three locations: in Rizzitello’s Brick home, in a vehicle at a Wall Township parking lot, and at a Belmar bagel shop owned by Rizzitello’s family.

Both victims had been hired to work there, at her suggestion, police said.

After being investigated, Rizzitello then contacted both victims and asked that they delete evidence from their personal electronic devices.

Rizzitello appeared before Superior Court Judge Jill G. O'Malley on Wednesday.

O’Malley referred to the emotion of a victim impact statement read earlier during the sentencing hearing in denying a defense request for a reduced term of 5 years in prison.

In addition to prison, Rizzitello must register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law.

“These crimes were not isolated incidents constituting moments of poor judgment; they were textbook cases of grooming, involving a defendant who repeatedly leveraged tactics of isolation, manipulation, and control for the sake of her own selfish purposes,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a written statement.

She would also be banned permanently from public office or employment and under parole supervision for life.

Read More: Julie Rizzitello admits to assaulting students in New Jersey

Former Bridgeton head teacher convicted by jury

A 57-year-old former head teacher at a Bridgeton school similarly faces prison.

In October, Isaias Garza was found guilty by a Cumberland County jury of second-degree counts of sexual assault and witness tampering.

The Vineland resident now face five to 10 years in prison on each charge.

Garza was the head teacher at Bridgeton's ExCEL program at the time of his 2018 arrest. His sentencing had been slated for Thursday — but has been pushed to March 6.

Next week, two other former teachers who pleaded guilty to sexual assault of students also are slated for sentencing.