resigns following his arrest last week
H.S. teacher arrested on
sexual contact charges
Sayreville teacher
resigns following his arrest last week
By jennifer dome
Staff Writer
SAYREVILLE — An English teacher at Sayreville War Memorial High School was charged April 8 with having criminal sexual contact with a 16-year-old student.
Gregory Palmer, 37, was arrested and charged with three counts of criminal sexual contact and three counts of official misconduct following an investigation by the Sayreville Police Department that was prompted by school district officials.
Palmer allegedly committed acts of sexual contact with a male student and also photographed the boy, according to Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Andrea Carter. The alleged incidents occurred on the high school grounds on three separate occasions between December and March, Carter said.
"There was some contact made with the boy, some of which was photographed," said Carter, the head of the county Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit. She did not elaborate on where the incidents occurred on the school grounds.
The county Prosecutor’s Office could not discuss any new evidence that may have been uncovered when reached earlier this week and would not say if any other potential victims had come forward.
Palmer, a resident of South Plainfield, was held at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, North Brunswick, following his arrest on April 8. He has since been released after posting $75,000 bail.
According to Carter, an official misconduct charge, which is a second-degree offense, could carry a five- to 10-year sentence if Palmer is convicted. For the criminal sexual contact charge, a fourth-degree offense, Palmer could serve up to 18 months. The judge could multiply the amount of time served by the number of counts against Palmer, the assistant prosecutor said.
Palmer, who taught at the high school for about seven years, submitted his resignation after being questioned by school and police officials, according to a statement from Superintendent of Schools Dennis Fyffe.
"District administrators took swift action in this matter, as did members of the Sayreville Police Department," Fyffe said.
School officials had received information suggesting that Palmer "may have behaved inappropriately with one or more students," Fyffe said. They then met with the police department’s Juvenile Aid Bureau, and the state Division of Youth and Family Services Institutional Abuse Division was notified, according to Fyffe.
Palmer, also a catechism teacher with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church in South Plainfield, was removed from his duties by the Diocese of Metuchen as well.
"We are troubled by the news of the arrest of Gregory Palmer in connection with alleged criminal activity he supposedly engaged in as a teacher at Sayreville High School," Ronald C. Rak, general secretary for the diocese, said in an April 9 statement.
Rak said the diocese was not aware of any allegations involving Palmer, but it had taken action "as a precaution to protect the interests of all concerned."