Julie Rizzitello teacher sentenced 10 years prison sexual assault charges
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A former New Jersey high school teacher who groomed two students before sexually assaulting them at his family’s bagel shop was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday, prosecutors said.
Julie Rizzitello, 37, a teacher at Wall High School in Wall Township, was convicted at a hearing in Monmouth County Superior Court. Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Judge Jill G. O’Malley ordered him to serve 10 years in state prison, be subject to parole supervision for life, register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, which requires some offenders to register with law enforcement, have no contact with victims, and permanently lose his teaching position.
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Julie Rizzitello in an undated photo. The former Wall Township High School teacher was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday. (Duvar Public Schools)
Rizzitello pleaded guilty in September to two counts of second-degree sexual assault stemming from crimes in 2017 and 2024.
Prosecutors said the sexual acts took place at Rizzitello’s home in Brick, in a vehicle in a Wall Township parking lot and at his family’s Belmar bagel shop, where both victims worked at Rizzitello’s suggestion.
An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Bureau and Wall Township police revealed that Rizzitello met one victim as a freshman and the other as a junior in high school. Authorities said he wanted to spend time alone with the teens and developed a friendly relationship over the course of several months before engaging in sexual activity.
As the investigation continued, Rizzitello contacted both victims and asked them to delete evidence of the crime from their electronic devices, authorities said.
Police arrested Rizzitello without incident in July 2024 after a district employee reported that Rizzitello was in a relationship with a student. Coast Star.
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Former Wall Township High School teacher Julie Rizzitello appeared in Monmouth County court in Freehold, N.J., after admitting to sexually assaulting two students last year. (Thomas P. Costello / Asbury Park Press / USA TODAY NETWORK)
According to the media, the incidents involving the first victim, based on a police arrest warrant, took place in May and June 2024.
Rizzitello and his student, who turned 18, had sexual intercourse in his car in Brick in May 2024. NJ.com reported, citing an affidavit of probable cause. They also met at other locations and she sent him nude photos, authorities said.
After his arrest, a second victim came forward and told investigators that she and Rizzitello had sexual intercourse at his Brick Township home in November 2017 and January 2018. An affidavit of probable cause was included, Coast Star reported. The victim was 17 years old at the time. Pictures and text messages confirmed this account, media reported.
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Julie Rizzitello stands during a hearing in Monmouth County court in Freehold, N.J., after admitting to sexually assaulting two students last year. (Thomas P. Costello / Asbury Park Press / USA TODAY NETWORK)
At sentencing Wednesday, O’Malley rejected a defense request to reduce the prison sentence to five years, citing a victim impact statement read aloud in court, according to prosecutors.
“These crimes were not isolated incidents that constituted moments of poor judgment; they were textbook cases of grooming involving a defendant who repeatedly used tactics of isolation, manipulation and control for his own selfish purposes,” said Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago. he said. “The appalling nature of the behavior is compounded by the fact that the emotional and psychological damage it inflicted was at the expense of two of the same young minds he was entrusted to develop and nurture.”
Wall Township Police Chief Sean O’Halloran praised the victims for coming forward.
“I want to commend the bravery of those who came forward to report these crimes. It is never easy to speak out, especially when the culprit is someone trusted,” O’Halloran said. he said.
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Wall High School in Wall Township, N.J., where former teacher Julie Rizzitello once worked. (Google Maps)
Rizzitello, who teaches English, was hired in 2013 and earned an annual salary of about $62,000 before resigning. NJ.com.
In July 2024, Wall Township Public Schools admitted to the charges and said the district was fully cooperating with law enforcement.
