Published 7:59am  Credit: William Paterson WAYNE, NJ - William Paterson University announced that on Thursday afternoon their campus police department, along with the Pompton Lakes Police Department, arrested Christopher Geary, 18, of Pompton Lakes for allegedly threatening to stage a shooting on an unnamed campus. Geary himself is a student at County College of Morris. Geary was charged with making terroristic threats and causing a false public alarm. Thursday's announcement was as follows: "An arrest has been made of Christopher Geary, 18, of Pompton Lakes, Reportedly, Geary wrote on Tuesday that a shooting would occur on Wednesday. According to North Haledon Police the comment was made on the application Yik Yak. Because the campus was unnamed, the university was never placed on lockdown. On Wednesday, the University had placed an announcement on their website: “The University has learned of an anonymous threat of a shooting for today (Wednesday, Sept. 24) on an unnamed campus. The threat was posted on the Yik Yak social media application. The University has taken additional precautions while it investigates. The investigation is ongoing and progressing.” It has not been announced by police how Geary was connected to the anonymous message nor why William Paterson University took the lead in the case if there were no other direct threats to their school.
by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com Published 3:52pm  Credit: Essex County Correctional Facility CALDWELL, NJ - On Friday, the Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and Maplewood Police Chief Robert J. Cimino announced that additional charges were levied against Nicole Dufault, 35, of Caldwell. Dufault was arrested Tuesday night at her home and charged with sexually assaulting three students at Columbia High School in Maplewood, where she has been working for nine years as a language arts teacher. After the charges authorized today, the number of sexual assault victims has been raised to five. Prosecutors detailed that Dufault is accused of engaging in various sexual encounters with the students on school property and in her car on multiple occasions. Dufault is accused of multiple counts of first degree aggravated sexual assault and multiple counts of second degree endangering the welfare of a child. All five of the victims are 15-year-old boys who were students at Columbia High School. All of the incidents occurred during the regular school year and also during summer school in 2013 and 2014. Dufault appeared in court today and entered a not guilty plea to the charges involving the original three teen boys. She continues to be held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark on $500,000 bail. She has been ordered to have no contact with any of the victims and her two minor children have been removed from her custody. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at 973-753-1130. The high school acting superintendent, James G. Memoli, and the school's principal, Elizabeth Aaron, sent out a letter on Thursday to all parents regarding the incidents: To the SOMSD Community, Further Reading:
 Credit: Acting Essex County Prosecutor's Office CALDWELL, NJ - Nicole Dufault, 35, was arrested Tuesday night at her Caldwell home and was charged with multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and Maplewood Police Chief Robert J. Cimino.
The law officers announced that Dufault is a language arts teacher who has been employed at Columbia High School in Maplewood for approximately nine years. She is suspected of sexually assaulting three 15-year-old boys who attend the school. The incidents allegedly occurred during the regular school year and also during the 2013 and 2014 summer school program. Dufault is currently being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark on $500,000 bail. She has been ordered to have no contact with any of the victims and her two minor children have been removed from her custody. Prosecutors detailed that Dufault is accused of engaging in various sexual encounters with the students on school property and in her car on multiple occasions. Counseling is being offered to students through the South Orange / Maplewood School district regarding the incidents. Further Information The investigation, which is active and ongoing, was conducted by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Maplewood Police Department. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at 973-753-1130. |
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