A teacher from North Cape May turned himself into Police for sex crimes committed against a student.
The teacher, Joseph Towns, was a teacher at Middle Township High School and admitted that he “committed crimes” against a student over the course of a year from October 2012 to October 2013. The student was a Junior when the incidents began. After turning himself in, Downs was charged with sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and possession of child pornography. He was being held at the Cape May Court House Correctional Facility before posting his $175,000 bail and being released.
If Towns is convicted of these crimes, he will be subject to several penalties including possibly 10 years in New Jersey State Prison. Endangering the welfare of a child alone in this case carries a prison sentence of 5 to 10 years. Downs could also receive several fines, and he will have to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. Under this law, Towns would be required to register certain information with the local police including his address and place of employment. Further, he would have to be under community supervision, potentially for life.
Formore information on this case, please access the nj.com article entitled “South Jersey high school teacher charged with sexual assault, child pornography.”
