A New Jersey teacher sexually abused a fifth-grade student and allegedly gave birth to his child.
Laura Caron, 36, pleaded guilty Oct. 28 to second-degree endangering the welfare of a child through sexual conduct. Cape May County prosecutors said she faces five years in prison and must surrender her teaching license, along with her eligibility for future public employment. Caron will also be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law and remain under parole supervision for life.
Defense attorney John Tumelty told Oxygen he would not comment publicly until after sentencing.
The allegations came to light in December 2024, when the Middle Township School District received an anonymous tip claiming that a staff member had engaged in a sexual relationship with a student, former Chief Assistant Prosecutor Dara Paley said at a January 2025 hearing on pretrial detention. Paley said investigators later identified the staff member as Caron.
The suspicions reportedly began with a Facebook post written by the boy’s father, who said he noticed a physical resemblance between members of his family and Caron’s 5-year-old child, born in April 2019.
“He was 13 years old,” Paley said, referring to the boy’s age when he allegedly became a father. “This defendant at that time was 28 years old.”
Police determined that Caron had sexually abused the boy from 2016 through 2020, beginning when he was 11.
Caron was arrested in January 2025. The school district told CBS News that she was placed on administrative leave after officials learned of the allegations.
The boy’s father said Caron was a family friend who often allowed his children to spend the night and drove them to school. According to him, that arrangement eventually became permanent.
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“The victim indicated the sexual assault occurred two times a week for four years,” Paley said in court. “That would be 416 separate sexual assaults this defendant committed against a child.”
The boy’s sister told investigators that she would sometimes find him in Caron’s bed when she woke up. She also said he used a private bathroom that Caron entered while he was showering.
“The sister also provided a screenshot of a text conversation she had with the victim where he admits that he is, in fact, the father of this defendant’s 5-year-old child,” Paley said, “and requested her not to tell anyone because he does not want to get her in trouble.”
Paley said the boy also told police and his mother that he was the father of Caron’s child.
However, Caron’s attorney described her as a “very impressive young woman” with an “impeccable” teaching record and argued that the allegations were not supported by DNA evidence.
A judge released Caron under pretrial monitoring; however, six months later, a grand jury indicted her on aggravated sexual assault and other charges.
After entering her guilty plea, Caron is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 8, 2027.
Representatives of the Middle Township Police Department, Middle Township Public Schools and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to Oxygen’s requests for comment.
