A former paraprofessional and member of the coaching staff with the New Brunswick school system has been sentenced to serve 5 years in a New Jersey state prison for the aggravated sexual assault of a minor student.
Eugene Colbert, 31, of South River, will have to serve 85 percent of his prison terms before becoming eligible for parole according to the terms of the No Early Release Act.
Superior Court Judge Joseph Rea, sitting in New Brunswick, ordered Colbert to register as a Megan’s Law sex offender and be placed on parole supervision for life upon his release from prison. In addition, Rea ordered the defendant to have no contact with the victim and to forfeit public employment, according to information provided by Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Christopher L.C. Kuberiet.
Colbert pleaded guilty on June 17 to one count of aggravated sexual assault in the first degree. The defendant was terminated from his employment with the New Brunswick school system, where he was employed since 2009.
The defendant was charged as a result of an investigation conducted by Detective Bill Coleman of the New Brunswick Police Department and Detective Oscar Ayala of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation determined that from November 2018 through March 2019, the defendant engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a female student, when the victim was 13 years of age, while on school property during school hours, according to the statement.
During the time when the criminal conduct occurred, the defendant had supervisory and disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of his employment as a paraprofessional as well being a member of the coaching staff at the victim’s school, according to the statement.