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On Wednesday, August 30, New Jersey authorities announced that Edison teacher Julius Coaccioli has been arrested for possessing illicit online material. According to My Central Jersey, the 55-year-old science teacher has been slapped with a third-degree charge of having images of child p*rnography.
Trigger warning: This article concerns child abuse, the reader's discretion is advised
As the case currently remains in the early stages of investigation, officials have not yet disclosed the circumstances that led to Julius Coaccioli's arrest. The disgraced teacher has not yet commented on the allegations.
The school district addresses the case against Julius Coaccioli
According to NJ News, Julius Coaccioli was a science teacher at the Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Edison, New Jersey. The teacher reportedly received a salary of $106,369 for the 2022-23 academic year.
On Wednesday, after New Jersey authorities received a cyber tip indicating that Julius Coaccioli was in possession of illegal material, a search warrant was executed on the suspect's home. After the arrest, Edward Aldarelli, the Edison Township Public Schools Superintendent, released an official public statement:
“The individual has been placed on administrative leave and barred from all school grounds until this matter has been resolved by the courts. The safety and security of our students continues to be our top priority,” Aldarelli said.
As of August 31, officials are still determining the scale of Julius Coaccioli's activities. While they acknowledged that less than 1000 illicit pictures were seen on the teacher's laptop, they have not discussed whether any of his crimes were directly related to students at his school.
Due to the serious nature of the allegations against Julius Coaccioli, the case is being handled by several agencies. The Daily Voice reported that the investigation is being coordinated by the New Jersey State Police, with the help of specialists such as Detective Ken McGarry of the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit.
Another prominent figure in the investigation includes Detective Stephanie Redline, an investigator with the Special Victim’s Unit of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
The issue of illicit online material is nothing new in the State of New Jersey. As the crime is particularly shocking when children are targeted, the State has imposed a mandatory sentence of at least 5 years for suspects convicted of distribution.
In an official statement made in 2013, then-New Jersey Governor Christie discussed the rationale behind passing the mandatory sentence.
"These are among the most abhorrent crimes imaginable, in which digital images are made available to a worldwide audience of remorseless creators and consumers of these vile images of mere children. This is permanent victimization of a child or youthful victim already subjected to horrifying abuse," Christie said.
The case against Coaccioli is currently considered an active police investigation.
