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In the second such case in two weeks, a Middlesex County teacher has pleaded guilty to sexual contact with a minor.
Matthew Smith of Woodbridge, a physical education teacher at Fords Middle School, pleaded guilty to charges of groping a 14-year-old student, according to county Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan.
Smith, 27, admitted he improperly touched the girl in June 2009, according to the prosecutor. The investigation began when the girl's mother contacted school authorities and police. Smith was arrested in April.
Smith had been a student teacher at the school in 2008, and was coming to the end of his first year as a full-time teacher when the incident occurred.
Under a plea agreement with the prosecutor's office, Smith will be sentenced to 364 days in the county adult correction center, must surrender his teaching certificate and register as a sex offender under Megan's Law.
Superior Court Frederick P. DeVesa scheduled sentencing for Oct. 4. Smith remains free on $75,000 bail until that time.Earlier this month, an Edison High School teacher was sentenced after pleading guilty to criminal sexual contact for having sex with a student.
– JOE TYRRELL, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
