MARLBOROUGH – Following controversy surrounding an incident at Marlboro Memorial Middle School in March, a special education language arts teacher at the school has been charged with harassment, police announced.
Jenna Shabika, 38, was charged Friday with misdemeanor criminal disability. According to police, the incident occurred on March 13th.
Shavitsa was the subject of a wide range of inflammatory allegations raised by parents at Tuesday's Marlboro School Board meeting.
Shabika's lawyer said she and her family have since received bomb and death threats “as a result of false and unfounded accusations.”
Mitchell Ansell, an attorney with an office in Ocean Township, said Shabika plans to sue for defamation over the allegations.
“I am confident that once the judge considers all the facts in this case, Jenna will be completely exonerated and her honor and reputation will be restored,” Ansell said.
She says she plans to plead not guilty.
The March 13 incident occurred in public on the grounds of Memorial Middle School, Marlboro Police Lt. Steven Levy said in a statement.
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The incident, which involved a teacher “uncomfortably touching a student over their clothes in the school hallway,” was witnessed by another staff member, it added.
School administrators immediately called the police, and the teacher was placed on administrative leave.
Mr Levy said the month-long investigation included interviews, review of school surveillance footage and written statements. Levy did not say whether the incident was caught on surveillance camera footage.
On Wednesday, Superintendent Michael Barone issued a letter to the district saying there had recently been an incident at the middle school involving “inappropriate physical contact with a student by a staff member.”
“Once we became aware of the situation, action was taken and the employee in question was immediately removed from his position,” Barone said in the letter, adding that this is believed to be an isolated incident.
Shabika earned a salary of $87,160 at the end of 2023, according to pension records. Shabika has worked for the district since 2008, according to records on LinkedIn and the middle school's website. She is also a registered dyslexia therapist.
She graduated from Marlboro High School in 2003, according to Asbury Park Press archives.
This week has been a chaotic week for the Marlboro School District. The entire school district was placed on lockdown after a bomb threat was reported Thursday and directed toward the middle school and school board building. Police said they found nothing dangerous or dangerous and determined the source of the threat was “low risk and low credibility.”
A similar threat was made on Friday, causing a two-hour delay.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the Marlboro Township School District is home to more than 4,500 students.
Ken Serrano We cover the latest news, crime and investigations. Please contact us at kserrano@gannettnj.com.
