A former New Jersey teacher allegedly lied to her friends when they asked her about the father of her baby, whom she is accused of impregnating with a 13-year-old former student.
Laura Caron, 34, threw herself a baby shower in the months before she gave birth in 2019, while she was still working as a fifth-grade teacher at Middle Township Elementary School Number 2, the New York Post reports.
When a friend then asked about the baby's father, Caron simply said he was “out of the picture.”
“She had a baby shower. She was happy with it,” Darlene Dowless said.
“But she didn't identify who the father was, at least not to me. She just said he wouldn't be involved and was out of the picture.'
The baby's paternity remained a mystery for years until the victim's father pointed out the uncanny resemblance between Caron's child, himself and his son in a Facebook post last month, police said.
That message led to an investigation in which police determined that Caron had sexually assaulted a teenager, whom she first met while teaching him and his brother.
Caron and the boys' family stayed in touch for years, and in 2016 the then 11-year-old boy, his brother and their sister moved in with the teacher at her home in Cape May.
Laura Caron, 34, is accused of fathering a child with a then 13-year-old former student
She had first met the victim while teaching him and his brother at Middle Township Elementary School Number 2
They lived there for four years, during which time the boy was sexually abused, police say.
His sister explained to officers that the siblings originally slept in a shared room on the second floor, but she soon noticed that her brother would end up in Caron's bed as soon as she woke up, according to a criminal complaint.
She also reportedly told officers that when her brother would take a shower, the teacher would enter the bathroom and lock the door.
The victim's brother also told police that he once saw him sexually abused.
When police eventually questioned the young boy, who is now between 19 and 20 years old, he allegedly admitted to being the father of Caron's five-year-old child and requested it be kept secret in text messages to his sister, reports 6ABC. .
He also reportedly claimed that he stayed in touch with Caron until his father made the Facebook post.
Caron is now charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
Prosecutors also said the Middle Township School District was notified of the investigation and is currently cooperating with law enforcement.
Caron is charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child
She reportedly let the boy and his siblings move in with her in 2016
School officials have since placed Caron on paid administrative leave, Middle Township School District Superintendent Dr. confirmed. David Salvo, in an emailed statement to CBS.
She was released from jail on Tuesday after a judge ruled she was not a flight risk.
But neighbors say they were shocked by the news of her arrest.
“I don't think this was on anyone's BINGO card for her,” an unidentified former colleague told the Post.
“We all assumed she had a boyfriend, an adult boyfriend, not a child.”
