New Jersey pre-kindergarten trainer’s aide accused of sexually assault of ‘multiple’ youngsters over greater than a decade | EUROtoday

A pre-kindergarten trainer’s aide in New Jersey has been arrested and charged over the sexual assault of “multiple” youngsters over the course of greater than a decade.

Shaun M. Stebbins, 43, was arrested Sunday and is going through a slew of costs together with aggravated sexual assault of a sufferer beneath 13 and numerous crimes regarding little one pornography, based on the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.

The costs stem from reported incidents involving a variety of victims between 2014 and 2025, although prosecutors stated they had been “deeply concerned” there could also be extra youngsters impacted.

“We are issuing this press release to make the public aware of these heinous allegations,” Atlantic County Prosecutor William E. Reynolds stated in an announcement. “We are deeply concerned that there may be additional victims, particularly given the defendant’s access to children through his employment.

“As we have seen in other recent cases, individuals who prey on children often place themselves in positions of trust within schools, organizations, and youth programs to gain access to victims,” Reynolds added.

Stebbins has labored as an aide in a preschool class at Woodbine for a number of years, based on The New York Times. He was reportedly honored as one of many workers of the yr, although all footage of him appeared to have been deleted from the district’s social media pages as of Friday.

The claims towards Stebbins first emerged two weeks in the past when 4 college students got here ahead and shared particulars of their alleged abuse with authorities, a relative of one of many victims instructed The NYT.

Reynolds stated his workplace was placing out the details about the arrest of Stebbins “out of an abundance of caution… despite the holiday weekend and in advance of the scheduled detention hearing.”

Charges towards Stebbins had been introduced following an investigation carried out by the Somers Point Police Department with help from the County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit.

The county prosecutor stated the investigation revealed that over a interval exceeding 10 years, Stebbins allegedly dedicated a number of sexual acts towards a number of victims beneath the age of 13. He’s additionally accused of making and possessing little one sexual abuse materials.

The unnamed sufferer’s relative instructed The NYT that Stebbins spent a whole lot of time on-line, together with on livestreams, and claimed investigators had taken 15 laborious drives and different units from his residence.

The Independent has contacted the Somers Point Police Department for additional info in addition to the Woodbine School District for remark.

Stebbins was arrested by the Somers Point Police Department and is presently being held within the Atlantic County Justice Facility. He is because of seem in court docket Monday morning.

In a message to folks, obtained by NBC Philadelphia, Superintendent Adrienne Breitinger stated the district presently had no further info to share.

“As you may be aware, an aide assigned to one of our classrooms was arrested last week,” the message learn. “At this time, the District does not have any additional information beyond what has been reported in the media regarding the investigation.

“Upon being informed of the arrest, the District immediately requested a replacement aide. The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority.”