Married New Jersey Teacher, 37, Who Got Pregnant by Student She 'Groomed' Sentenced to 10 Years Behind Bars

Julie Rizzitello, a Brick Township resident and former Wall Township High School teacher, was sentenced to a decade in state prison after a judge ruled she purposely and knowingly groomed and sexually assaulted the two students.

The 37-year-old mother of two pleaded guilty in August to two counts of second-degree sexual assault. One count involved a student between the ages of 16 and 17 over whom she had supervisory authority. The second involved a student between 18 and 22 while she was still serving as his teacher.

At her sentencing this week, Superior Court Judge Jill Grace O'Malley detailed what she called a years-long pattern of manipulation and abuse.

"First, the defendant knew because of her position as a teacher that these victims were particularly vulnerable," O'Malley said. "She preyed on them in a safe place. She isolated them."

According to official reports, the first victim, identified in court by his initials BS, was a freshman when his relationship with Rizzitello began in 2017, when she invited him to eat lunch alone in her classroom.

More private and personal meet-ups followed, until at one point, Rizzitello told the teenager she had dreamed about having s-- with him.

"This is grooming," O'Malley blasted. "It is traditional grooming that I see every week here in this courthouse. This is the behavior of a standard sexual predator. You're no different."

The judge continued to describe how, on the student’s birthday, Rizzitello encouraged him to have s-- with her without protection

.

Weeks later, she told him she was pregnant, but terminated the pregnancy without his knowledge.

"This is the psychological impact of a child who's a student of yours," O'Malley slammed. "Not only does he have to deal with the fact that he's groomed throughout his entire high school years, that he was preyed upon by his teacher who he loved and trusted, that he was sexually abused by this teacher...

"But now he’s struggling to come to terms with the fact that this individual had an abortion and wasn't comfortable with it. This is the psychological impact – the devastation."

An impact statement from the boy read: "I do not think Julie is evil, but I do believe she needs serious mental help."

He said he struggles to form normal relationships and doesn't trust women, adding that he experiences anxiety and panic attacks and dropped out of college because he could not concentrate.

"No kid should have the feeling of sickening anxiety and panic attacks while just trying to get through school," he wrote.

After the first relationship ended, several years passed before Rizzitello became involved with the second victim. Although the two didn't have physical s-- until after he turned 18, the judge emphasized that his "grooming" began while he was still a minor.

Rizzitello was sentenced to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison on each count, to run concurrently. She must also register under Megan’s Law and will be subject to parole supervision for life.