NJ Pre-K Aide Named 'Paraprofessional of the Year' Charged With Assaulting Children During Nap Time
Shaun Stebbins, 44, faces dozens of charges including child porn and sexual assault at a Cape May County elementary school. NY Post Metro reports abuse allegedly began in 2012.
NJ School Aide Charged With Filming Sexual Assaults on Toddlers During Nap Time
A pre-K teaching aide at Woodbine Elementary School in Cape May County, New Jersey, who was named "paraprofessional of the year" for the 2024–2025 school year, faces more than 60 criminal counts after prosecutors say he filmed himself sexually assaulting children as young as three during nap time, NY Post Metro reports.
Shaun Stebbins, 44, appeared virtually in court Monday, where additional charges were read against him following a months-long investigation that began in the spring. Investigators recovered what prosecutors described as a large volume of illicit material from his electronic devices.
According to prosecutors, Stebbins photographed and filmed children's private parts in school bathrooms and recorded himself performing sex acts on children — some aged three or four — during nap time at Woodbine Elementary, where he had worked for more than four years.
Stebbins was initially arrested in March and fired from his position after four children, all siblings, alleged he had sexually abused them at his Somers Point home over more than a decade. The victims say the abuse took place between 2012 and 2025. When one of the victims came forward as an adult in March, investigators expanded their inquiry to include his conduct at the school.
On Friday, Stebbins was charged with 29 counts of first-degree manufacturing of child pornography, five counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, 13 counts of second-degree sexual assault by sexual contact, and 14 counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. His relationship to the four sibling victims was not immediately disclosed.
Woodbine resident Victoria London said the case has shaken the community. "How can we heal from this? How can we move on so this doesn't happen again?" London said. "There has to be more eyes and more ears, more listening. And maybe there needs to be a better screening."
Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland issued a statement Monday. "Children are among our most vulnerable population and we have a responsibility to protect their safety and well-being," Sutherland said. "Anyone who harms a child will be held accountable through our justice system."
Stebbins was scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday. The school district did not respond to requests for comment.
Source: NY Post Metro