NJ Special Ed Teacher Sentenced to 12 Years for Raping 15-Year-Old Student

Allison Havemann-Niedrach, 45, was sentenced Friday for sexually assaulting a student over six months. The judge told her: "You are his trauma. You ruined him."

NJ Teacher Gets 12 Years for Sexual Assault of Eighth-Grade Student

A former New Jersey special education teacher was sentenced to 12 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to raping a 15-year-old student she had grown "obsessed" with, the Asbury Park Press reported via NY Post Metro.

Allison Havemann-Niedrach, 45, broke down in tears at sentencing as the victim read a statement to the court. The former Freehold Intermediate School teacher had pleaded guilty in January to sexually assaulting the boy during a six-month period in 2024, when he was in eighth grade.

The student, who was not identified, told the court the months-long relationship had been "like a nightmare." He said he had blamed himself for years.

"For two or three years, I thought it was my fault," he said.

He also told Havemann-Niedrach he forgave her — at which point she burst into tears. In her own statement, she told the court: "I apologize profusely for my actions. I am moved by his forgiveness."

State Superior Court Judge Jill G. O'Malley sentenced Havemann-Niedrach without restraint.

"You are his trauma. You ruined him," O'Malley said, raising her voice.

The judge also noted that the abuse had caused the boy to consider suicide before he disclosed the relationship to his mother.

Prosecutors said the investigation began after the school's vice principal flagged concerns about Havemann-Niedrach's behavior toward the student. Another teacher had allegedly observed her rubbing his neck and back, touching his leg, and flirting with him. The boy's mother separately grew alarmed after his sister saw him sitting in the teacher's car, and she noticed he was on his phone late at night.

Havemann-Niedrach sent the teen a total of 25,000 messages, prosecutors said. The boy, who had reportedly told friends he was dating his teacher, ultimately admitted to having sex with her after his mother brought him to a police station.

Under the terms of her plea deal, Havemann-Niedrach must serve at least 85% of her 12-year sentence. She has been registered as a sex offender, her teaching certifications have been revoked, and Judge O'Malley ordered her to have no further contact with the victim or his family.

Havemann-Niedrach, a mother of two, had taught at Freehold Intermediate School in Monmouth County.

Source: NY Post Metro